


Angels, Alcohol, and Marriage: Awesome

by Akira_of_the_Twilight



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Accidental Marriage, Alternate Universe - Season 9 Canon Divergence, Amnesia! Gabriel, Dubious Consent, Human Castiel, Kevin Lives, M/M, Temporary Amnesia, Temporary Human Gabriel, soul mates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-30
Updated: 2014-10-22
Packaged: 2018-02-15 09:02:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 78,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2223249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akira_of_the_Twilight/pseuds/Akira_of_the_Twilight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For Sam waking up next to a supposedly dead archangel was shocking enough, then he learned that aforementioned angel doesn't remember him, and they may have gotten married. From there everything spiraled.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Everything up to 9x04 is open game.
> 
> To avoid season nine spoilers this fic avoids direct mentions of Ezekiel like the plague. Essentially, the story is set in a universe where Ezekiel has come and gone.

Sam wrinkled his nose as a horrible odor that could only be morning breath assaulted his nostrils. He gasped at what felt like a stampede of elephants pounding against his skull. He blinked and rolled over, reaching for what he hoped would be a glass of water on the nightstand—there was a fifty percent chance that Dean had noticed Sam had gotten plastered, decided not to be an ass about it, and actually did something nice for his brother.

Sam groaned in defeat as his fingertips brushed against smooth wood.

Somebody shifted beside Sam in the bed and sighed contentedly.

 _Shit!_ Sam stiffened. He cursed his alcohol-addled brain for not picking up the signs that he was currently rooming with a perfect stranger. He knew the person wasn't Dean because that would be too convenient, and life seemed to have a wicked sense of humor when it came to Sam.

Sam gulped as the cool air teased his bare chest, and he took note of his lack of clothing. Perhaps he had spoken too soon about life giving him the worst situations, because the chances were high that he had sex with whoever was in bed with him, and he definitely didn't want that person to be Dean. He silently prayed that his original assumption that Dean wasn't the second occupant in the bed was true. If it wasn't, he would need years of therapy, which he would never be able to obtain with the way they traveled, even if they did have the Man of Letter's giant storage locker as a home base now.

He twisted his torso, catching just a glimpse of wiry muscle, a broad back, and short, mussed, blond hair. Even with bits of hair standing on end there was something about the hair that tugged on Sam's memory, and he turned a little more.

 _It's a man!_ Sam fully turned and jerked away.

Panic surged through Sam. Just how drunk had he been, and where the heck was Dean? Dean would have never let Sam leave in a drunken state with a man. Heck, even sober Dean wouldn't let Sam leave without thoroughly interrogating Sam first. Sam hadn't even been curious in college! At least not enough to want to participate in anything.

The man moaned and rolled onto his back, his eyes fluttering open as he stretched and arched his back, letting his hand fall across his forehead.

 _Gabriel?_ Sam would recognize that lazy, smug, smirk and pair of mischievous twinkling golden eyes anywhere.

Sam's brain spluttered like a dying engine. Gabriel was dead. He hadn't seen the body, but one of the many ways Lucifer liked to torture Sam was by showing him images of everyone who died because him. Sam had never thought the death of Gabriel would bother him much, but Lucifer had made a point of making sure Sam heard Gabriel's speech about humanity; the death had been more poignant because of that. Gabriel, as much of an asshole as he was, really was one of the good guys.

And now he was in the same bed as Sam, smiling up at the hunter. "Not going to lie, kiddo. I can barely remember last night, but I can tell it was fucking fantastic." He rolled over slightly onto Sam's chest, trailing his fingertips up Sam's sternum. "We really should go a few more rounds before we part ways. You know, for some clearer memories of just how awesome we are."

Sam's insides froze like the tundra.

Dean's plaintive scream broke through the walls of the adjoining room—something Sam had only noticed at that moment; he really needed to get a hold on his bearings or a demon could come out of nowhere and shiv him before he could blink. Sam sat up, flinging Gabriel off him.

Gabriel tumbled to the floor in a heap of blankets as Dean burst through the door in nothing but a sheet wrapped around his waist, and Castiel—also dressed toga-style—tailing him.

Sam only had a moment to be startled at Castiel's presence—Castiel was still on the run from his brethren; it had been weeks, almost months, since Sam had last seen the ex-angel. His moment of shock and awe was interrupted as Dean caught sight of Gabriel on the floor and Sam naked. "What the hell is going on here?"

Sam held up his hands in a helpless manner. "I don't know. Why is Cas here?"

Gabriel groaned and rubbed his head. "Thanks a lot, Sasquatch." The action caused the sunlight to hit Gabriel's hand. The light bounced off something the archangel was wearing on his hand and hit Sam in the eye.

Sam closed his eyes and shielded his face, only to feel the slight press of metal against his forehead. Sam flung his hand down and stared at the faux-silver band around his ring finger. A cold sweat broke across his neck as he flashed back to his time as Becky's husband. He zeroed in on Gabriel. "Please tell me this is a joke." Sam held up his hand, showing off the ring.

Dean squawked and Castiel flinched from his spot behind Dean.

Gabriel blinked then lowered his hand from his head. He eyed the band on his finger, turning his hand slightly during his examination. "Well, what do you know?" He beamed at Sam. "Looks like we're married."

"How?" Sam shook his head. "Never mind, stupid question." Alcohol obviously was at play here. "But what are you doing here? Last time we saw you, you and Lucifer were about to go at each other."

Gabriel cocked his head to the side, adding his personal brand of flare to what Sam considered a very Castiel gesture. "Lucifer? Who names their kid Lucifer, and second, why would I…" Gabriel's eyes widened and he shot up, the sheets and blankets falling away to leave him in nothing but his birthday suit. "Wait, do you know me?"

"We'll see once we run a few tests." Dean marched forward, seizing Gabriel by the wrist and holding him in place. Gabriel made a shocked sound and struggled in the older Winchester's grip, but seemingly couldn't break the hold. That realization put Sam on edge; Gabriel should have been able to slip out Dean's grip with just a thought.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Gabriel wiggled, glaring at Dean over his shoulder.

"Sam, get the knife and holy water." Dean nodded at something behind Sam.

Propped up against the other side of the nightstand was Sam's bag.

"What?" Gabriel jolted. Panic marred the archangel's features and he looked between Sam, Dean, and Castiel, who was wringing his hands.

"Dean, I think he has amnesia," Sam said, his stomach churning at the normally confident creature in his brother's hold being in such a frightened state.

"Yeah, well, we won't know for sure until we can be certain that he isn't a demon or something else in disguise."

"Demon?" Gabriel gaped, but then slammed his mouth shut. He pursed his lips. "You mean those things with the ugly faces?"

"That is how they would appear to you, if you are who you seem to be." Castiel stepped out from behind Dean. He looked conflicted as he stared at his brother. His fingers twitched at his side as if he wished to do something, and that was when Sam saw the band of metal around Castiel's ring finger.

Sam's gaze shot to Dean's left hand where a matching ring sat on his finger.

At least Sam wasn't the only Winchester to get married this time, even if it still sucked.

Gabriel inhaled deeply, his shoulders sagging in the process. "Fine. Just get this over with, and then tell me who you think I am, or I swear you will wish you had never been born."

Sam nodded and fetched the tools required to test Gabriel. He made a quick slice into Gabriel's arm first, to get the hard part done with. He then sprinkled holy water over Gabriel's skin. Gabriel grumbled when Dean commanded Sam to grab some cleaning solution from the bottom of the bathroom sink. Sam also felt it was a little excessive too, but he rather be safe than sorry later on. When all the tests were done Dean released Gabriel, who flipped his middle finger at Dean as he reached for his discarded pants on the floor. "So who are you two, and what do you guys know about me?"

Sam reached for his pair of discarded pants too and accidentally caught Gabriel's eye. Gabriel wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at Sam, "Other than what you learned last night, kiddo."

Sam scowled. "Should you really be calling someone you had sex with 'kiddo?'"

Gabriel smirked. "Fine, Hubby. Now you and knuckleheads one and two over there," He pointed at Dean and Castiel, "explain yourselves already." He plopped himself on the bed, bouncing on the mattress as he did so.

Castiel stepped forward. "My name is Castiel, and you are my brother Gabriel."

Gabriel lifted one thin, dubious eyebrow. "Really, because we look nothing alike."

"Well, in these forms of course we wouldn't—"

Dean patted his hand on Castiel's arm, silencing the former angel. "You might want take baby steps here, Cas."

Castiel furrowed his brow in his classic expression of befuddlement.

Dean sighed in exasperation. "Listen, your family is messed up and super religious."

"Messed up?" Gabriel said.

"Your dad is a no-show, your two oldest brothers want to kill each other, one of them—Lucifer—actually tried to kill you for calling him out on his B.S., and your younger siblings are so used to having someone in charge they are pretty much ripping each other apart trying to figure out who will be the new head of the family."

"How many siblings do I have?"

"A lot."

Gabriel frowned. He clasped his hands in front of his mouth and bent over his lap as he mulled over the new information. "That many siblings, and none of them ever looked for me?"

Sympathetic pain stung Sam in the chest as he flashed back to the day Dean returned from purgatory. He remembered the look of hurt, bafflement, and anger that had spread across Dean's face at his admission that he had never searched for Dean. Sam had tried to ignore the guilt and shove it down, but every time Dean brought it up Sam felt worse, and it had made him angry. He wouldn't lie and say he'd change the past if he could—he had enjoyed his reprieve from hunting—but he still hated the hurt he had caused his brother.

Without thinking, Sam sat on the bed beside Gabriel and placed his hand on the former archangel's back. "You actually ran away from home because you couldn't take the fighting. Most of them have no idea that you are alive. I'm sure if they did they would have come for you."

Dean snorted tersely.

"How long have you been wandering around without any memory of your former life?" Castiel inquired.

Gabriel frowned and looked at the ceiling. "About four years now."

Everyone in the room went quiet. Sam didn't know what to say or do. It sounded like Gabriel had been resurrected as a human shortly after the apocalypse was averted, possibly prior to that too.

Gabriel sighed and dropped his hands in his lap. He smiled as he rose to his feet. "Well, whatever. It's not like I have any proof what you say is true, and even if it is, there's a reason why I ran away from my family, so it's not like any of this matters." He offered a hand to Sam. "So we gonna go down to the courthouse and remedy this situation or what, Hubby?" Gabriel flashed his ring. "No offense, but while I was never a fan of marriage to begin with, I definitely do not want to be saddled with a guy who walks around with knives and holy water in his knapsack."

The corner of Sam's mouth quirked up, although, his intestines were still twisting with pity for Gabriel. He had seen Dean put up the tough guy act enough times to recognize it in Gabriel. "No offense taken. Besides," Sam purposefully eyed Dean and Castiel, "I think we aren't the only ones who need an annulment."

Castiel fiddled with the ring on his finger. "Annulment?"

Dean cursed. "C'mon, don't tell me you don't know what an annulment is."

Castiel straightened, glaring at Dean. "I know exactly what it is, however, I do not feel comfortable breaking a vow I made in front of God."

Dean opened his mouth, looking ready to tear into Castiel like a vulture with a carcass, but a glance at Gabriel stopped him. He gritted his teeth. "It's not like you haven't gone against God before."

"Yes, and look where that has gotten me."

Sam and Dean winced at the painful reminder that Castiel was human now, and one that was forced to live in the streets, barely surviving each day.

Dean grumbled and marched toward what was Castiel and his room. "We can talk about this later, let's just get to the courthouse and fix this mess." He disappeared into the room.

Castiel clenched his fist and his jaw, stomping after Dean.

Gabriel whistled lowly when Castiel slammed the door behind him. "Don't those two just scream arguing couple?"

"Well, that is what they are now."

Gabriel sniggered.

Castiel and Dean's voices rose in volume, but the context of what they were speaking about was muffled by the walls. There were a few syllables that sounded like "Sam," "Protect," "Betrayed," "Baby," "Oath," "Drunk," "God," and "Marriage."

Gabriel leaned back on the bed, showing off the expanse of his naked chest. "Sounds like they may be arguing for a while, so perhaps you and I should have some fun reliving last night." He smirked. "Everyone deserves goodbye-sex."

Sam held up his hands and backed up a step. "Okay, listen, I am not attracted to men."

Gabriel arched an eyebrow in an expression that read: "Oh, really?"

Sam groaned. Even without his memories as a trickster/angel Gabriel still knew how to push Sam's buttons. "I was drunk, and…" Sam tried to conjure a memory of what had happened the other night. All he could recall was that he and Dean had just finished a hunt near Las Vegas and decided to swing by for a night of fun. He had been in some dimly lit bar and that was all Sam could remember.

Gabriel stood and scooped his shirt and jacket off the floor. "You know, Hubby, alcohol lowers your inhibitions, but it doesn't change your sexual orientation." He smacked Sam on the ass as he walked past Sam to the bathroom.

Sam yelped and covered his butt. He whirled in time to catch Gabriel winking at him as he disappeared behind the bathroom door.

* * *

Sam fidgeted as he waited for the federal worker to read through the paperwork Gabriel and him had filled out. She held up the marriage license. Sam tensed expecting some type of judgmental sound as she read the date. With one hand she typed something into her computer then clicked her computer mouse. With a flick of her wrist, she produced a sheet of paper that required their signatures be signed in front of her. "Okay, just sign here, and we will begin processing your request. It can take up to three weeks for the process to be completed, and there is the possibility that you will be called in for a hearing. If such is the case, you can always request your hearing be done by phone."

She lay a pen down atop the document.

Sam snatched the writing utensil up. He wanted this nightmare to be over with as soon as possible. Although, a strong part him knew that this was only the beginning. Getting an annulment was just a distraction from the larger issue, which was what to do about Gabriel. Dean and him had been shooting anxious glances at each other the whole car ride over. At some point they were going to have to separate themselves from their heavenly companions and devise a game plan.

Sam pressed the tip of the pen along the line where he was supposed to sign and date. His hand trembled. Sam frowned and tried moving his hand to draw the first letter of his name. Pain shot up his hand, through his wrist, to his arm, and seized his heart. He hissed.

Gabriel frowned beside him. "You okay, Sasquatch?"

Sam dropped the pen and the pain instantly vanished. "Uh… yeah. Just…" He reached for the pen and his hand twitched. He hugged his hand to his chest. "I think I got Carpal Tunnel or something." Sam glanced over at one of the many other windows in the courthouse where Dean and Castiel were handed a sheet of paper to sign.

"What are you? An old man?" Gabriel snatched the pen up. "Here, let someone young and spry show you how it's done." Gabriel grinned as he slid the paper in front of himself. He pressed the pen against the document and the smile was wiped from his face. His brow pinched as he added pressure to the pen, only to drop it with a gasp.

Over at the other window, Dean cursed as he flung down the pen as if it had scolded him.

The woman servicing Sam and Gabriel frowned. "Is there something wrong, gentlemen?"

Gabriel rubbed his writing hand. "No. Guess we went at it a little harder last night than I thought."

"I doubt last night's activities could lead to this," Sam whispered to Gabriel.

"Oh, it can," Gabriel hissed back.

Castiel stepped forward to sign his name on the document for annulment. His face was scrunched with displeasure, but he picked up the pen. The tip barely grazed the paper before he dropped it and said something to Dean that caused the older Winchester to curse. Dean turned toward Sam, and Sam nodded his head.

"Sirs?" The woman at Sam's window said.

Sam picked up the papers. "Uh, is there anyway we could take this with us and come back later to get this signed?"

The woman frowned. "That is not advisable, but if you need a moment to discuss this, then please feel free to take a seat and check yourself in again when you are ready."

"Okay, thanks." Sam grabbed the documents in one hand and Gabriel's wrist in the other. He tugged the shorter man away from the rows of windows and lines of people to meet Dean and Castiel, who was the one clinging to their papers, in a more isolated area. "So something supernatural is definitely at work here."

"No shit, Sherlock."

Gabriel aimed a knowing look at Castiel. "We really managed to bag ourselves some crazies, haven't we? No offense guys, but really? We're going to jump on the supernatural bandwagon just like that?" Gabriel snapped his fingers.

Sam and Dean tensed, expecting something to happen.

Gabriel frowned at them. "What's wrong?" He eyed his hand.

Sam cleared his throat and composed himself. "Listen, I know it's hard to believe, but there are supernatural things out there, and—"

Gabriel cut him off with a wave of his hand. "Kid—Hubby, I see ugly, horrendous, inhumane faces where no one else does. Now, I can either be insane or there are magical things at work, and like any human, I choose to be optimistic and arrogant and assume that there is nothing wrong with me. So please, cut the 'supernatural things exist' speech out. I let you pour holy water on me, for crying out loud."

"But you said—"

"Just because I tell you to not immediately assume something is magical or whatever, doesn't mean I don't think the supernatural doesn't exist."

"Yeah, well," Dean interrupted, "I don't think the four us suddenly being unable to sign a simple annulment is anything natural."

"True." Gabriel raised an acknowledging finger. "But what kind of mythical creature would want to marry off four guys in a single night?"

"We could be dealing with a god or goddess of love," Sam supplied. "Maybe even a god of marriage, like Hera."

Gabriel jerked his head back. "The Greek gods exist?"

"Yup," said Dean. "Along with many others. In fact, you may want to read up on Norse mythology." He smirked at Gabriel.

Sam shot Dean a warning glare. Eventually they would have to tell Gabriel the truth, but considering the man was still dealing with the fact that he had a whole slew of relatives that he didn't know about and was married to someone who was probably coming off as some weird occultist, Sam thought it best to save the Loki reveal for a later date.

Castiel, who had bowed his head in thought, suddenly cocked his head to the side, his blue eyes locking onto Dean like they had the tendency to do. "It could be a rogue cupid, although, they don't normally have powers such as these."

Gabriel double-blinked, then craned his neck so he was looking at his ass. "My butt went through a lot last night, but I don't think getting hit with an arrow was one of them." He smirked, golden eyes flashing with wicked glee. "What about you three?"

Heat exploded in Sam's cheeks and rushed to the tips of his ears. He had been ignoring it for most of the day, but now that his thoughts had been forced to focus on his bottom, he couldn't help but be more aware of the slight soreness to it. One glance at Dean's crimson face was enough to inform Sam that Dean was experiencing a similar reaction to Gabriel's question.

Surprise sent Sam's thoughts faltering, though, when he looked at Castiel and the ex-angel had a merely ponderous expression on his face. "Cupids have many methods of performing the task of making couples copulate, therefore a literal bow and arrow is not necessary. However, I do admit that my ass is a little sore. Sex with a man is quite different from intercourse with a woman."

The red on Dean's face spread down his neck as he clenched his teeth. "Dude! Don't talk about it!"

Castiel blinked. "But Dean, you seemed very invested in my sexual exploits before."

Gabriel guffawed and Sam bit his bottom lip to keep from snickering. He knew he should feel more sympathy for his brother, but Castiel's statement was so sincere and filled with confusion, Sam couldn't help the bubble of humor that filled his insides at the comment.

"Shut up," Dean all but growled, ducking his head between his shoulders.

Gabriel chuckled and slung his arm around Castiel's shoulder. "I like you, kid."

Castiel's eyes widened with such awe and reference, pity tugged at Sam's heartstrings. Castiel looked like no one had ever said such a thing to him in his life. Sam hoped that such a thing wasn't true. If it was, he would have to make a point of reminding Castiel just how important he was to Sam—Dean and his "No chick flick moments" be damned.

"Perhaps we should all focus on the matter at hand here, instead of embarrassing each other?" Sam said. "We should either check out the bar or wherever we got married."

Gabriel leaned into Cas, peering at the papers hugged to the ex-angel's chest. "Looks like we all got married at the same church, bucko."

Sam nodded in satisfaction. "Good, one less place to research. Now, if we could find some place with wi-fi, I can look up…" Sam trailed off as Gabriel fished out a cell phone from his pocket.

Gabriel tapped something on the screen.

"What are you doing?" Sam asked.

Gabriel glanced up from the illuminated screen for a second then tapped out something else on the phone. "I'm looking up more information on the church." Gabriel looked down his nose at Sam like the younger Winchester was a buffoon. "You ever hear of a Smartphone? The internet is just a couple finger-taps away."

Dean chortled and nudged Sam with his elbow. "Well, he's already shaping up to be a better hunter than Cas was."

Cas bitch-faced at Dean.

"Yeah…" Gabriel sing-songed the word, never prying his gaze away from the phone. "I'm just going to ignore the word 'hunter' there until I am a little more comfortable with you guys." His brow scrunched as he read something on his phone. "Huh? Listen to this, that church the four us got married at opened a few months ago. Not only that, but apparently they already have a reputation for turning down customers. Granted, this is nothing I couldn't have told you." He smiled cheekily. "The benefits of being a local, you know. However, the fact that hasn't been made rumor yet is its lack of annulments and/or divorces."

"What do you mean by 'lack?'" Sam had a sinking suspicion he knew exactly what Gabriel meant, but he needed to hear it confirmed aloud to feel secure.

"Zero, and since this is Vegas, home of the quickie marriage and divorce, you can imagine how seemingly impossible that is."

Dean whipped out his car keys from his jeans, twirling them around his finger. "All right, then we already know the first place to look." He nodded at the phone in Gabriel's hand. "You should look up the bar too."

Gabriel dimmed his phone's screen and pocketed it. "No need. I work there, and I know everything that goes on inside."

Sam's bones jumped in surprise. "You work at a bar?"

Gabriel shrugged. "Gotta make a living somehow." He looked at the round clock hanging on the wall. "By the way, can we take care of this in the next few hours? I have an afternoon shift."

"Huh…?" Dean eyed Sam and Gabriel. "Maybe you are made for each other. Sam worked as a bartender too."

"Dean," Sam hissed and whacked his brother's arm.

Dean laughed as he walked toward the exit. "Aw. Embarrassed, Samantha?"

Gabriel faced Castiel. "So you want to tell me more about last night?"

Dean sputtered. "Shut up!" He dashed out the door like a vampire was on his heels.

Sam smiled as he watched his brother go. He jumped a little when Gabriel slid up beside him, their sides brushing. Sam looked down and Gabriel winked at him. "Don't worry, I got your back, honey."

Sam was momentarily stunned, and it was just the opening Gabriel needed.

Gabriel pinched Sam's buttocks then fled for the door, laughing all the while.

Sam blushed.

Castiel titled his head, staring at where Gabriel had pinched Sam's ass. "I think he likes your butt."

"Not as much as Dean likes yours," The remark was defensive and instinctual. Sam regretted uttering the words the moment they left his mouth.

Castiel blinked. "My memory is foggy, but I do recall Dean praising my vessel's bottom."

Sam bit his tongue and forced himself not to react like a child and cover his ears while singing, "I'm not listening." Instead, he did his best to walk calmly out the door with Castiel by his side. He kept his eyes locked ahead of him, and was silent as he slid into the front passenger seat of the Impala.

Once everyone was fastened in and Dean turned on the car, Gabriel leaned forward so his head was in between the front seats. "You are going to want to make a right when you exit the parking lot, then make a left at the intersection. If you miss the first one, you can take the second one, but the third one is going to take you away from the church."

Sam turned in his seat so he was facing Gabriel. "You really do live here."

Gabriel flicked Sam on the forehead. "Come on, I know there are some brains with that beauty. How hard is this to comprehend?"

"You were a bit of a drifter the last time we saw you," Sam explained.

Gabriel huffed. "Amnesia changes a guy. Plus, I didn't want to stray too far from where I was found in case someone was looking for me." It was brief, but a flash of hurt entered Gabriel's eyes. He blinked and the pain was replaced with humor. "Just think, Sam, if this were a romance novel, we would be soul mates and I would have been waiting for you." He chuckled as he leaned back in his seat.

"Cute," Sam said drily. He looked in the rearview mirror and caught sight of Castiel's contemplative expression. "By the way, we still don't know why you are here, Cas."

Castiel blinked as he was pulled out of his thoughts. "Someone in one of the shelters I was staying at suggested I look for work here. He said I had the looks for it."

Dean slammed on the brakes, earning a honk from the car behind. He whirled in his seat. "Someone told you to become a male stripper?"

Castiel frowned. "No. He just said I would find work here."

Dean grumbled and turned in his seat so he was facing the road. He pressed on the accelerator as he continued mumbling to himself.

"You're going to want to keep going for two miles down this road," Gabriel said.

Dean nodded.

"So you don't have a job?" Gabriel asked Castiel.

Castiel nodded.

Gabriel pursed his lips as he mulled over a thought. "I know someone who runs a restaurant near the bar, and they could use another busboy. It doesn't pay a lot and it isn't the classiest joint, but it's a way to make money without putting on a banana hammock. Granted, you could still wear one if you want."

Castiel stared at Gabriel as if he had grown a second head, which considering the archangel's lack of powers—or at least, knowledge of them—would have been quite the impressive feat. "I would appreciate that very much."

Gabriel gave Castiel a friendly shove on the shoulder. "No big deal. Even if you're lying about us being brothers, technically, we _are_ brothers-in-law."

Sam frowned. While he knew Gabriel was a good guy and loved his family, it still put Sam on edge to seem him acting so friendly with someone who was essentially a stranger. It was so different from the man who had forced Sam to watch his brother die a hundred times and the one who had put them in another dimension and forced them to act out TV shows just to teach them a lesson. Then again, as wrathful and twisted as Gabriel could be, there were times when Gabriel seemed rather laid back. Perhaps without the fear being caught by his family or the constant anxiety of waiting for the day his brothers would fight to the death, Gabriel was able to embrace that side of his personality more? The lack of powers probably helped too.

"So why were you at the bar, Cas?" Dean interjected, pulling Sam out of his reverie.

"As I was wandering the streets a woman saw me and offered to buy me a few drinks. I was thirsty and accepted the offer." Castiel scrunched his face. "I remember the woman trying to lead me somewhere after a few drinks and then you showed up, Dean. You were quite furious. After that, my memory is a haze."

As Castiel spoke, Sam's mind conjured a fuzzy image of Dean by his side at the bar, laughing and talking about the girls in the crowd. Then suddenly Dean had tensed and grumbled something. Dean then barreled through the crowd toward something as Sam reached out to pull him back, only for Sam to sway on the barstool and give up moments later.

Sam turned his head so he could see Gabriel in the side-view mirror of the Impala. Gabriel must have shown up some time after Dean had left.

Gabriel caught his eye in the mirror and grinned.

"Directions," Dean demanded.

Gabriel broke eye contact. "Just keep going a little farther until you see the vampire themed strip club with the picture of what looks like two blondes making out. Make a left and the chapel will be on the right after a few more miles."

Dean drove down the road, obeying the directions given. Within a few minutes they pulled into a small parking lot with a large white sign overhead declaring the church's name and promising eternal love for all who were married within. Dean scoffed at the sign and made some sarcastic comment about how the sign should promise something other than eternal love. They stepped out of the Impala, not bothering with disguises—if someone from last night was working there and saw them pretending to be federal agents, they would be thrown out long before they could do any snooping.

Dean pushed open the double-doors and the quartet marched into a small immaculate room decorated in flowers. Sam immediately knew that whatever "church" they were in was not a place of worship, but a place of business. With a quick sweep of the room he spotted a hallway and two numbered doors that Sam would bet money on led to chapels.

A woman sat at the white, wicker desk. She dressed in a three-piece suit and her hair was pulled back in bun that almost had Sam mistaking her for Naomi. She smiled. "Hello. How may I help you four?"

Dean strolled up to the desk and leaned against it, flashing a charming smile at the woman. "Actually, we were hoping to have a look around the place. You see, we were here last night, and my brother," Dean waved Sam forward. He clamped his hand on Sam's shoulder as he pulled Sam closer. "…lost something really precious here. A family heirloom."

The woman nodded her head. "I see." She stood up and rummaged through her desk drawers, pulling out a metal safety deposit box and a key. She unlocked the box and held it open. "People drop things all the time. Is the item in here?"

Dean and Sam pretended to search the box. A multitude of items such as necklaces, earrings, ties, cuffs, cell phones, and wallets filled the box. The Winchesters shook their heads after twenty seconds of searching.

The woman shut the box and stashed it away before plopping herself back in her seat. She ran her hands across the keyboard of the computer. "What are your brother and his significant other's names?"

 _Crap!_ Sam had no idea if he had used an alias or not.

"You can probably find it real easy." Gabriel waltzed up to the counter. "One of the names should be Gabriel. No last name, like Madonna." Gabriel nudged Sam playfully in the side as he pulled out his wallet and produced a Nevada driver's license.

The woman nodded and took the plastic card from Gabriel as she typed something into the database. Her eyebrows shot up. "Oh my. I see. Room Two. Married just this morning around three it looks like. Also, that statement about your last name is no longer true, Mr. Gabriel Winchester." Her eyes roamed over Sam and Gabriel as if they were an undiscovered species.

The woman's reaction had Sam itching to grab the gun in the back of his jeans. "So can we search the room?" He only caught a glimpse of Gabriel's reaction to his new and temporary last name from the corner of his eye as Sam questioned the woman.

The archangel was stunned, but did not appear displeased.

She shook her head. "Afraid not. There is a ceremony being performed in there right now."

"What about our room?" Dean quickly said, not ready to quit just yet. "Dean Winchester and Castiel?"

"It was the same room, sirs." The woman's voice had taken on a bit of venom as she returned Gabriel's license to him. "Same priest as well. The room is currently occupied, but if you four are willing to wait or come back—"

"What about the priest, can we talk to him?" Dean asked.

The woman's cheeks puffed up like a chipmunk's. "I'm sorry, but he is currently sorting out other business matters. He is the one in charge of this place, and he must approve all weddings before they can be preformed, so as you can imagine, he is quite busy."

"When will he be back?" Sam asked.

"You never know with him. I wish I could be of more help, gentlemen, but I also have a mountain of work that I must do too, so if you could please wait outside or check back in a couple of hours from now, the room should be available for you to search for your item." She twisted in her seat so she faced her computer directly and speedily typed against the keys, signaling that she was through talking with them.

Sam and Dean shared a look then turned to go, Castiel and Gabriel following behind. Once all of them stepped out the church and the doors closed Gabriel stretched his arms over his head and cracked his back. "Well, someone is clearly hiding something, or was I the only one to notice how she turned into the White Witch of Narnia the moment she opened our file?"

"She was highly suspicious," Castiel agreed.

Dean shoved one of his hands in his jean pockets. "You're tellin' me. The chick…" Dean trailed off, his head turning to follow the shiny, black, Lamborghini that drove into the parking lot and parked.

Gabriel whistled in appreciation.

The door to the expensive vehicle flew open, and a black pant legged stepped out accompanied by a male voice. "How many times do I have to tell you to double check these things. One day they're Steve Collins, the next they are Trisha Parker." Another leg joined its partner and a man in an expensive black suit and red tie unfolded from the vehicle, his hand pressing to a bluetooth in his ear that was almost hidden behind ear-length blond hair. "Yes, I know things have been challenging, but this is what we do. Just because the main branch goes down, doesn't mean we let everything fall apart. After all this time, we are not failing now. Do you understand me?" He pulled a brown leather brief case out of his car, and slammed the door shut with his hip. "Now listen, I have to go. I will pass on the list through e-mail." He paused. "I would just _tell_ you the list, if you hadn't messed it up last time I did so."

"Uh guys…?" Gabriel touched Sam's elbow as he leaned in close. "Are you seeing the white lights around that guy's face or is it just me?"

A jolt raced through Sam. White lights that could only mean one thing: an angel.

The man headed straight for the church, his head slightly down as he opened his brief case a crack, as if checking to make sure he hadn't forgotten something. He paused in his steps. "No, they can not run around nude." The man scowled. "Because Adam and Eve had to take from the tree of knowledge and now all humans are cursed with the knowledge of shame, and guess what? Nudity is considered by most to be shameful." He tapped his bluetooth, shutting it off, and took a deep sigh, closing his eyes.

When the man opened his eyes they landed on the Winchesters and company. The man sneered. "No." He held up a finger as if to silence them. "No. You four haven't been married for twelve hours yet. I do not need to take your Winchester defiance bullshit. I got work to do."

"Obviously, you don't know us very well, if that's what you think." Dean took a step forward straightening his shoulders in an attempt of intimidation that both Sam and he knew would be useless against an angel.

Castiel stepped out from behind Dean. He scrunched his brow as he tried to discover the identity of the angel before them.

The unknown angel huffed, unintentionally blowing a few blond strands out of his eyes. "Every angel knows about you Winchesters. I believe the descriptions range from disobedient dogs to cockroaches that should have died long ago. Of course there are the few who think you brave and endearing, eh, Castiel?"

"Angels?" Gabriel swiveled his head between the Winchester brothers for confirmation.

"Who are you?" Castiel's angel blade slid into his hand as if it had been hidden in his sleeve.

"A mere solider such as yourself should not raise their blade at me, Castiel, although I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Now that you are human you can't even recognize your siblings even if they are standing right in front of you, unless they reveal themselves."

Castiel's breath hitched as if he'd been punched, and his grip on his sword tightened. "You did not answer my question."

Gabriel tugged on Sam's sleeve. "If he's an angel and my brother, does that make me…?"

"An angel," The unnamed heavenly being answered. "An archangel specifically, or you would be if your grace and consciousness were not separated from each other." His eyes narrowed. "An annoying one too. You had the habit of messing with my paperwork."

"All right, featherbrain," Dean interrupted. "Enough with the old family stories. Name yourself already, or Cas here is going to stab you."

"No, thank you." The angel disappeared and reappeared in front of the church doors with his hand on the handle. "As I said, I am busy, and with Heaven closed the cupids are in a panic."

"Chamuel," Gabriel and Casitel said in unison. Gabriel clamped a hand over his mouth as if he had just uttered a curse in a church—although, Sam doubted even with his memories Gabriel would find such an act apprehensible; the archangel had posed as a god, after all.

Chamuel did not stop to confirm the name, but marched straight into the building. The four followed him inside, all trying to get through the doors at the same time. Chamuel held out his hand at the receptionist and she passed a thick stack of papers to him. In a second, Chamuel yanked about twenty pages out from the stack. "No. These ones are not meant to be."

The woman nodded and dropped the papers into a bin under her desk.

"Chamuel, what are you doing here?" Castiel asked.

Chamuel scowled as he turned to face the quartet. "Doing my job."

Sam frowned as he tried to summon any information he had gleaned over the course of his angel readings that mentioned Chamuel. There had been a mention of a Camael once, but it was just a name and nothing more.

"But what does that have to do with us?" Castiel gestured to the group. "Or are you not the one responsible for this?" Castiel held up his hand, showing off his wedding band.

"You really are not going to let me get any work done until I sit down and deliver needless exposition."

"Not so needless, since all of are a little confused here," Sam said.

Chamuel snorted tersely. "Abigail, is room seven open?"

The woman nodded.

"Good, and thank you. Follow me, you unappreciative brutes." Chamuel marched off to a darkened hallway covered in paintings of light colors depicting gardens and beaches. The quartet followed Chamuel to an arched door with the number seven engraved at the top along with a set of intricate swirls that formed a heart.

A series of beeps filled the air as Chamuel pushed open the door. He pressed the bluetooth in his ear as he led them up to a wooden table dressed in a simple white clothes and two candles on either side. Behind the table stood a cross taller than Sam, and draped with white, gossamer sheets and a handful of flowers scattered about it.

"What do you mean you made the boy fall in love with the mother on accident? Fix it! We've been doing this for centuries, you should know how to fix a simple mix up." Chamuel paused. "Listen, I got the Winchesters here, and since their cases are quite unusual and they love to destroy anything good in their lives, I really need to explain to them what is going on before they end up ruining all of our work and bringing down the wrath of our father. So please, call Eliza if you need help within the next half hour." Chamuel clicked off the call.

He pressed a palm to his forehead. "Honestly, you would think after centuries of doing this the cupids would know what to do by now. They even have the help of human technology at their disposal." He sucked in a deep breath, and shoved one hand in his pants' pocket. The action should have made him appear relaxed, but Chamuel remained as stiff looking as ever.

Sam winced at the thought of how many hypothetical knots his vessel had in his back.

"So for those of you who are uneducated, I am the chief executive of the cupid department in Heaven, also known as the love department." Chamuel crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I examine all souls before they are born and write down the name of their significant other. I am also the only one in Heaven besides our father who can forge a connection after the soul has arrived on Earth." Chamuel's eyes locked on Castiel and Dean. "Granted, things do happen.

"As for why I am here, other than having been kicked out of Heaven, I am binding soul mates together." Dean opened his mouth to disagree, but Chamuel waved his hand, and no sound came out. "Now, of course this leaves the four of you saying, 'But Chamuel, we aren't soul mates. We're not even gay or bisexual. Why would you marry us? Was it some master scheme?'"

Chamuel stopped talking as if waiting for the group to comment.

"Is it a scheme?" Sam asked.

Chamuel rolled his eyes. "Of course it is," sarcasm oozed out of him. "Let me give you another crash course. Humans and angels are not allowed to copulate or marry, however, there is a loophole." Chamuel gestured at Castiel and Gabriel. "Currently, my brothers are human, or close enough to human."

"You're my brother too?" Gabriel gaped.

"Now as the chief executive of the cupid department, when special cases such as yours occur, it is my personal responsibility to monitor and bring you together with your soul mate. Once Castiel became human, I could bind him to Dean. After all, my job is to tie humans together, even if one was formally an angel."

"Wait," Sam stepped forward. "But Gabriel has been human for years, so why bring us together now?" Sam cringed internally as he asked the question. There were so many more inquiries that were more important than why the timing of it all, such as why him _and_ Gabriel at all? Gabriel had been an asshole to him! It would make more sense for Gabriel and Dean to be soul mates. They had a similar brand of humor and personality at least.

Chamuel shrugged. "I got the notice after you passed the first trial."

Lightning raced across Sam's nerves. "How did know when I completed the first trial? How do you even know I did the trials?" Other angels were completely clueless about what he had attempted to do.

"It came with the notice."

Dean emitted a muffled scream that made it sound like he had a sock stuck in his mouth.

Chamuel waved his hand.

"Fuck," Dean rolled is jaw. "Friggin' angels. Where did the notice come from?"

Chamuel looked purposefully up at the ceiling then leveled his gaze with the group. "I assume Sam was rewarded Gabriel as a soul mate due to his willing sacrifice."

Sam bowed his head and clenched his teeth. Guilt rolled in his stomach like waves crashing against rocks. "I failed though."

"I didn't get a notice afterwards retracting the command," Chamuel shrugged, "which is all for the better. Truthfully, I had been waiting for the trials to end before I did anything, because it would be rather cruel to unite you with your soul mate and then have you die days later. After that… well, it just seemed inappropriate to do anything while you had a guest."

"You know about that?" Dean hollered.

Chamuel smirked. "Remember, my job was to monitor you four, but now that you are wed, my task with you is done and I can get back to other matters." He smacked his hands together like he was wiping dirt off them.

"No, you're not." Dean marched up to Chamuel until there were only a few inches between them. "You said it yourself, Sam and I are not any sexuality other than straight. And also, what the hell was up with that dirty look you gave me and Cas just a minute ago?"

"That look was for the fact that until Castiel raised you from perdition, you, like your brother, were not granted a soul mate—company policies when it comes to vessels. Well, really just the destined vessels. Point is, Castiel touched your soul, and being the little idiot that he is, he forged a bond with you."

"Yeah, right. If we were really soul mates after that, then wouldn't I be attracted to him? Because, in case you missed what I just said, I don't go for dicks. So I have never been attracted to Cas."

Chamuel doubled-over with laughter. "Oh Father, that is the best joke I have heard in five centuries."

Dean gawked, unable to come up with a witticism to combat Chamuel.

Chamuel chortled as he straightened and fixed his tie. "Now really, I am not going to waste time arguing your sexuality with you when you'll realize on your own how incorrect your preconceived notions are. What you need to take from this conversation is really quite simple: One, you have a soul mate. Two, you are now married to said soul mate. Three, I married you, and when you are married by me, nothing but our father may separate you. Even Death can only keep you apart for so long before your souls—or consciousnesses—will find each other. Once you accept these things, you will be much happier."

Chamuel didn't move, but there was a certain finality to the angel's tone that sent Sam's heart into a panic and he stumbled forward as if to grab the angel. "Why me and Gabriel? Just why… him? If you know so much about us then you have to know what he did to us—to me."

For the first time, any arrogance or annoyance Chamuel displayed was washed away by a look of pity. "I don't know. All I can say to you is something that many humans have said before, 'The lord works in mysterious ways.'"

In a blink, Chamuel vanished.

Castiel frowned. "While insightful, this discussion has done nothing to aid us. Only confirm that our marriages are binding."

Dean scoffed, putting his hands on his hips in an annoyed manner. "Thank you, captain recap."

Castiel pouted.

Sam ran a shaky hand through his hair. His nerves were tense and the slightest touch catching him unaware would cause him to instantly drop kick whoever managed to get the jump on him. He turned, and saw standing the farthest away from where Chamuel had been was Gabriel. The blood was completely drained from the archangel's face, and his hands trembled at his side. He looked down at his feet, his facial muscles bunched together as if in pain, but underneath it all, Sam could detect the enormous amount of confusion bubbling under the surface.

Gabriel raised his head and his golden eyes caught Sam's. "What did I do to you?"


	2. Chapter 2

The answers to Gabriel's question screamed in Sam's head, but he hesitated to tell Gabriel the truth. The archangel had already learned so much in one day, it seemed cruel to add to it by revealing that he had taken pleasure in torturing Sam and Dean with events like the Mystery Spot and TV Land.

As if sensing Sam's hesitation, Gabriel straightened and lifted his head high, regaining some of the confidence that usually radiated from the archangel. His quivering hands tarnished the effect. He scowled. "Do not baby me here, Sasquatch. I've had plenty of time to wonder what kind of person I was before my amnesia, and while Angel of the Lord wasn't one of the things I predicted, being a royal asshole did cross my mind as one of the possibilities."

"Well, you heard him, Sammy." Dean patted Sam's shoulder as he waltzed past Sam to the exit. "And since he's your husband, I think I'll leave you two alone to discuss this. C'mon, Cas." Dean grabbed Castiel by the neck of his shirt and yanked him out of the chapel.

 _Traitor!_ Sam's muscles bunched in preparation to flee, but he held his ground.

"Well?" Gabriel crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Sam took in a deep breath and waved Gabriel toward one of the benches in front of the altar. He plopped onto the hard bench and waited for Gabriel to join him. Gabriel followed, but paused before the bench, as if debating with himself if he was ready to hear the truth. He shook his head minutely then sat himself next to Sam.

"So you're an angel, and you left Heaven," Sam began.

Gabriel scoffed. "I'm in shock, not stupid. I get it. It's hard to believe I am an angel, since I am not the most pious person, but considering the two angels I have met so far, I can gather that angels are not as sweet and innocent as people like to make them out to be."

Sam knew it was inappropriate, but he couldn't stop his lips from curling into a tiny smile. "It'd be easier and a lot faster to name the few angels who aren't assholes."

"Well, now I know why I left Heaven."

Sam winced. "Dean wasn't lying about you being upset about your brothers fighting."

Gabriel's mouth scrunched as if he had tasted something foul. Suddenly, his mouth dropped open an inch and his eyes widened. "Holy-! I'm not just any Gabriel, am I? I am _the_ Gabriel, and I really fought Lucifer, didn't I?" Before Sam could answer, Gabriel practically jumped in his seat. "Michael and Lucifer were the two who were going to fight, weren't they?" Gabriel slumped against the bench as if all the energy had been knocked out of him. "Wow. I stood up to the devil? Or are those two separate things? I know different beliefs argue about that."

"He's the devil," Sam answered.

"Wow," Gabriel repeated. A grin spread across his face. "I'm kind of a badass."

Sam sniggered. "Glad to see your ego hasn't changed."

"Hey, I fought the devil, and other than being an amnesiac human, I won."

Gabriel might as well have stabbed Sam in the gut with a knife. The image of Gabriel's carcass sprawled on the floor of the Elysian Fields, his wings singed into floorboards, flickered across Sam's mind.

"Oh," Gabriel said.

Sam blinked, not realizing that he had turned his head toward Gabriel and bowed it. He lifted his head. Based on the surprised and slightly pained expression on Gabriel's face, Sam knew the archangel had read his facial cues as easily as a book.

Gabriel rubbed the back of his neck. "That sucks, but I guess it's not so important if I am alive now." He grimaced. "Although, that means my brother killed me."

"I'm sorry," Sam murmured.

Gabriel waved off his apology. "Not like it was your fault."

"You were trying to protect an old girlfriend of yours. At least that's what you told us." Even before Lucifer had tortured Sam with all the deaths he was responsible for, Sam had always suspected Gabriel had been protecting Dean and him too. After all, Gabriel had left them with the knowledge of how to throw Lucifer back in the cage. Some part of Gabriel, even if it was microscopic, had wanted them to survive.

Once again, Gabriel seemed to read his mind, because he put a hand on Sam's shoulder and squeezed it before pulling away. "So you still haven't answered my question: what did I do to you to make the thought of us being a couple so absurd?"

Sam's stomach muscles tightened as if anticipating a punch to them. Sam exhaled as he hunched forward, pressing his elbows against his legs. "Are you familiar with Dante's _Inferno_?"

Gabriel nodded.

"Do you remember how the souls were punished in the story?"

" _Contrapasso_. Poetic Justice."

Befuddlement wrinkled Sam's face at the use of Italian, but he mentally shrugged it off. He hadn't expected the use of a foreign language, but if Gabriel had a hint of his angel powers, or was a simple fan of the piece of literature, it was not surprising that he would know the word. "Let's just say you were a fan of such justice, but Dean and I weren't so much."

Gabriel nodded. "Okay, but what did I do in particular _to you_?"

Sam gritted his teeth. The truth wasn't exactly the easiest thing to say. "You wanted to teach me a lesson about being so reliant on Dean, so you stuck me in a time loop and forced me to watch Dean die repeatedly."

Gabriel jerked backwards, away from Sam. "I did that?" He frowned. "I can do that?"

Sam nodded. "You seem to really like making pocket dimensions, because you also forced Dean and me into TV Land." Sam paused, eying Gabriel, who was dumbstruck. "You even gave me Herpes."

All shock and horror was ripped off Gabriel's visage when he burst with laughter. "I'm sorry, but after the other two things, that one just sounds so petty."

"It was part of the TV Land scenario."

"Really?"

Sam nodded.

"Dang," Gabriel whispered. "Listen, I know it probably doesn't mean much coming from me now since I don't remember doing any of that, but sorry. You seem like a real nice kid—guy! A real nice guy."

Sam tried to stifle a snort of disbelief, but it got through.

"What?" Gabriel asked.

"Let's just say, I don't hear that often, and I wasn't expecting it from you."

Gabriel draped his arm over the back of the bench. His eyes roved over Sam. "Ah. So you're one of those."

Sam frowned. "What do you mean?"

Gabriel poked Sam in the arm. "You angst. Probably regret ever single mistake you ever made in life, even though more than half of them were accidents or misguided." He leaned forward, letting his arm slide behind Sam on the bench's back. He grinned. "It's okay. As long are you aren't a complete asshat about it, I'm willing to take on the challenge of making you laugh. I have done stand up comedy. Although, the last show didn't end so well. I overestimated my alcohol tolerance and after five minutes of slurring my jokes, I ended up falling off the stage and waking up the next morning where I'd fallen. The janitor was nice enough to put a blanket on me, though."

"You're lying."

Gabriel held one hand over his heart and the other one up in front of Sam. "I swear, I am not."

Amusement thrummed through Sam, and he internally laughed at the image of a drunk Gabriel stumbling off the stage.

Gabriel slapped his hands on his knees and stood. He stretched his arms above his head and arched his back, closing his eyes. "So is that everything I need to know, or are there any more dark secrets hiding in my closet that I should know about?" He cracked open one eye and made a sound of annoyance in his throat. "Really? Not even going to take advantage of the show?" He gestured at the two inches of skin along his waist that had been revealed by his shirt and jacket riding up.

Sam chose to ignore Gabriel's indignation; if he was anything like he was in the past, paying his action any mind would result in Gabriel acting out more rather than less. "Nothing imperative."

Suspicion morphed Gabriel's face into a mash of intrigue and hesitance. "And you're only not telling me right now because you don't want my head to explode, but you promise to tell me at a later date, right?"

"I don't think you'd let me leave here if I answered with anything but a 'yes'."

Gabriel's eyes twinkled with mirth. "Aw, Sam, you really are my soul mate; you know me so well." He extended his hand to Sam.

Sam stared at the appendage as if Gabriel were offering him dog feces. "Uh, thanks." He pushed himself off the bench, avoiding Gabriel's hand.

Gabriel slid his rejected hand into his jacket pocket, acting very nonchalant about Sam's reaction, something the hunter was grateful for. Sam already felt like he was in an episode of the _Twilight Zone_ , having Gabriel whine about his unwillingness to accept friendly gestures would have taken the surreal situation to such a new height, Sam would have to make up a new adjective to describe it.

He cleared his throat and muttered at Gabriel to follow him as he took the lead. He walked out of the room and down the dim hall. From the corner of his eye he examined Abigail. The woman typed away at her desk as if they were invisible. He pushed open the door, and in an instinctual move brought about by manners, he pressed his back against the door and held it open for Gabriel. He didn't realize what he was doing until Gabriel winked at him as the archangel passed through.

Dean leaned against the Impala with his back to the church as he talked to Castiel.

Sam had half expected to walk into another fighting match with the two, but was happily surprised to see that their talk appeared cordial, albeit serious based on the hard lines of Castiel's face.

"Looks like you two are doing better." Gabriel sauntered up to the Impala.

Dean angled his head to peer over his shoulder. As soon as he spotted Sam, he opened the driver's door and slid into the seat. "Let's get going."

Sam didn't bother with asking where Dean planned to take them—he trusted that his brother had some sort of plan, and if he didn't they'd just end up at some cheap motel (they had checked out of the hotel when they left for the courthouse).

"May I sit in the front seat?" Castiel asked.

"No," Dean all but yelled.

The crestfallen expression that consumed Castiel's caused Sam's chest to constrict in sympathy. "Hey, Cas." The ex-angel turned his attention to Sam, as the younger hunter rounded the Impala and opened the passenger door. He held up one finger. "Give me a minute." Sam faced Gabriel. "You too."

Gabriel gave Sam a two-finger salute. "Aye, aye captain."

Sam ducked into the car, slamming the door behind him. Dean turned his key in the ignition and the Impala purred to life. Sam waited a beat, giving Dean time to realize no one else was getting in the car. Once realization dawned on Dean, Sam struck like a dog given the command to attack. "Do you have to be a dick?"

"What are you talking about?" Dean twisted in his seat, his face scrunched in anger and false bafflement.

"You know what I am talking about."

Dean leaned back in his seat, one hand on the steering wheel while he propped his chin on the other as he glanced out the window. "What? So you want to give up your seat to Cas now? You weren't so crazy about giving it to him when he tried to play hunter with us in that cartoon case. You know this is your seat." Dean punctuated the statement by pointing at Sam's lap.

"I'm not saying I want to give my seat to Cas, but come on, Dean. The guy has had it rough the last couple weeks. Just look at him. At least make up an excuse, or tell him the truth."

"Which is?"

"I have long legs and sitting in the backseat causes me to get leg cramps."

Dean huffed, but by the simple flex of his grip on the wheel Sam knew he had won the argument before Dean uttered, "Fine."

One of the back doors opened and Gabriel poked his head in. "So is the brother moment over, or do Cas and I need to find a coffee shop and get a few drinks while you two swap diaries?"

Sam tilted his head back so his voice would reach Gabriel easier. "We're done."

Gabriel nodded and pulled his head out. "It's safe, Cas."

The other passenger door opened and Castiel slid in and buckled himself in his seat.

"So…" Gabriel started. "Before I hop in the car and once again put myself at risk of getting kidnapped, I would like to point out that my shift at the bar is starting soon, so unless you guys plan to drop me off, I'm leaving you here and calling a cab."

"No. The four of us are staying together until we take care of this angel problem," Dean said.

A sound of bitter amusement escaped Gabriel. "Listen chucklehead, I am willing to put up with a lot, but Chamuel made it pretty clear that only him or God can undo this 'angel problem,'" Gabriel air quoted. "Not only that, but my job is my livelihood, and even if you two swore you were billionaires and I would never have to work another day in my life as long as I took off with you three, I still wouldn't do it—not when it hasn't even been a day since meeting."

Dean's tensed and puffed his chest. "You have no idea how in over your head you are. If this Chamuel asshole knows you're here then it's only a matter of time before others show up and try to gank you." Dean's eyes flicked to Castiel in the rear view mirror. The action was so quick, Sam almost thought he had imagined it, but then he remembered when Dean told him why he had been forced to kick Castiel out of the Men of Letter's underground storage unit.

The angels were after Castiel, and Castiel had no way of hiding himself.

"I've lived here for almost four years now, and no angel attack," Gabriel countered.

Dean looked ready to lunge across the back seat and drag Gabriel into the vehicle.

"What exactly is your plan?" Sam whispered.

"You're asking that now?" Dean responded in an equally hushed voice. "I am trying to get Cas out of here."

"Not even you can expect Gabriel to drop everything in his life for that. Besides, we don't have to bring him along."

"Yeah, and when the angels come to torture him I'm sure everything will be fine. No way he'll rat out Cas," Dean's voice oozed with sarcasm. "Plus, how do we know this freaky soul mate thing won't give us some weirdass psychic link that the angels can use to get to you? You might wake up one morning feeling like someone has cut you open and taken a heated rod to your guts. Or how about, what if we can't undo this without him?"

Sam raised his hand both in a form of placation and surrender. "Okay, I get it." Sam sighed, then raised his voice so Gabriel could hear. "How about a compromise? Gabriel will go to work in a cab, so he feels safe, and I will join him." Dean couldn't be trusted around Gabriel, not while his temper was so active that any unintended insult would lead to a brawl, and Castiel's presence would put Gabriel in more danger. It had to be Sam.

There was a bunch of shuffling and grumbling from Gabriel and Dean as they mulled over the option.

"As long as you don't get jealous," Gabriel directed at Sam. "Flirting is kind of part of the job description."

"I have bartended before, remember?" Sam opened his door and was just about to set his foot on the asphalt when a hand wrapped around his arm. He expected Dean to be the one holding him back. His bones jumped in his skin when he saw it was Castiel stretched across the top of the seat.

"Please try to convince Gabriel to join us, Sam. He may be the key to ending Metatron's spell."

Sam nodded, and Castiel released his grip. Sam went around to the back of the Impala and pulled out his backpack from the trunk. He slung it onto his shoulder then slammed the trunk shut.

Gabriel had his head tilted in curiosity and expectation. "So what did Cas say?"

"He was just saying bye," Sam lied.

Gabriel frowned, but if he suspected any deceit he didn't say anything. He turned and walked away from the Impala, pulling out his cell phone.

Sam hurried to follow, but movement in the Impala and muffled shouting from Dean had Sam turning to see what was going on inside in the vehicle. Castiel was crawling over the seats, tumbling head first into the front passenger seat. Dean had a hand on Castiel's hip and shoulder as he tried to aid Castiel into getting into the up right position.

Sam bit his bottom lip to keep from laughing.

"Either that is one kinky sex position, or my brother is an awkward little butterfly," Gabriel said, phone pressed to his ear.

"He's still figuring out how to be human," Sam said.

Gabriel nodded and talked to someone on the other side of the phone. As Gabriel ordered a cab, Castiel finally righted himself, and Dean drove off. Sam sauntered up to the church's wall and leaned against it as he waited for the cab to arrive. Gabriel soon joined him. The archangel pulled out two suckers from his pocket and offered one to Sam. Sam did his best not to look surprised at the familiarity of the situation as he politely rejected the candy. Gabriel shrugged and popped the sucker into his mouth.

In a few minutes a cab arrived and Sam and Gabriel climbed inside. The ride was brief with Gabriel constantly telling the driver off for trying to take the long way to the bar for a bigger payment. It took about ten minutes to reach aforementioned destination. Gabriel flipped the driver off as the cab sped off after payment.

Sam followed Gabriel into the bar and was hit simultaneously with shock and nostalgia. The bar was more than humble in size, and the items within were pristine and shined. The furniture was high quality and would have possessed a natural sheen even if someone hadn't cleaned them everyday—even the billiard tables. The scent of smoke was very faint. Instead, the bulk of the air had a cleansing smell to it that Sam couldn't quite describe. It reminded him of jogging on a misty morning.

The bar was more upscale than the places Sam and Dean usually frequented, and Sam wondered what had possessed them to go to this bar and not some place cheaper and more their style.

Sam was so entranced by the bar's appearance he missed the exchange of greetings between Gabriel and the man wiping down the bar's counter with a rag.

Gabriel nudged Sam's side and pointed at a door next to counter and shelves of alcohol. "I'm going to go change into my uniform."

"You have a uniform?"

"Yeah, it's in the back. I always change out of it if I plan to stay a little longer and party," Gabriel explained as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. He grinned. "I have to warn you though, I look especially sexy in my uniform. You better keep your hands off me while I'm working."

Sam snorted, and pulled out a stool. "I'll do my best."

Gabriel vanished through the door with a smile plastered on his face.

Sam plopped down in the chair and swung his bag into his lap. He pulled out his laptop and placed it on the counter. As he waited for it to boot up, he zipped up his bag and dropped it at his feet. The man currently tending the bar asked Sam if he wanted anything to drink. Sam declined the offer, but less than a minute later a glass of water was placed in front of him.

"Be prepared to loose your breath, Sam," Gabriel's voice floated through a crack between the door and its frame. A second later, Gabriel strolled out in black dress pants, a white button-down shirt, and a black vest. "Ta dah! Please, try not to swoon."

Sam snorted in mild amusement. "You look nice, but you're going to need more than a nice set clothes to make me swoon."

Gabriel slammed his hand over his heart as if struck.

The man at the counter chuckled as he headed for the door. "I think I'll be going now. You two enjoy yourselves."

"Aw, I'm alone?" Gabriel mock pouted.

"I think Natalie arrives in two hours," The man said.

Gabriel nodded in understanding. "Okay. Thanks."

As Gabriel's coworker exited from the building, two giggling girls with arms weighed down by shopping bags strolled into the bar and ordered margaritas. Gabriel went to work, chatting up the young ladies as if they were long lost friends.

Sam laced his fingers together and cracked them in preparation for his long research session. He may have promised Castiel that he would try to convince Gabriel to join their group, but he wasn't stupid enough to bring up the topic when Gabriel started work. Sam would wait at least an hour before breaching the topic.

He googled Chamuel and found pages and pages of websites on the angel of love, but nothing that looked legitimate. He then typed in "soul mate mythology". His computer screen was filled with tens of windows displaying websites on the subject. There were a few commonalities mentioned on the sites, although, quite a bit seemed to be in contradiction to what Chamuel had said. Many sources said soul mates didn't have to be sexually attracted to each other, but based on Chamuel's word that did not seem to be the case. There were also myths about the soul literally being ripped in half, or the bodies of humans being divided thus creating the two individuals that were destined for each other.

"Hey, Hubby."

Sam tore his gaze away from his laptop. He winced then blinked as his eyes adjusted to no longer staring at a bright screen.

A small smile played on Gabriel's lips as he pointed at the top shelf of alcohol. "You mind getting that bottle of bourbon for me?"

"You keep your bourbon on the top shelf?" Sam shut his laptop and shuffled behind the counter. He eyed the row of colorful bottles until he found the bronze translucent bottle.

"Sometimes my fellow employees like to mess with me if they know I'm going to be on shift after they leave."

Even with his height, Sam had to stretch to reach the bourbon. The cool air tickled the inch of skin along his waist that was unhidden by his shirt rising. He clasped the bottle and lowered it down to Gabriel. Golden eyes danced with glee and were locked on Sam's waist.

Sam shifted in discomfort. He pushed the bottle at Gabriel. "You going to take this or not?"

Gabriel chuckled. "Sorry, just admiring my work."

Sam's face scrunched. He rolled up the side of his shirt, examining the area around his hip where Gabriel had been staring. At first all he saw was his flesh, but just as he was about to give up he saw the hint of a red and purple hue peeking out from his waistband, just at the edge of his side and back. He tugged on his jeans to get a better look at the discoloration. Heat rushed up his neck and cheeks at the bite mark.

"Aw, don't look so horrified, Sam." Gabriel chuckled as he poured the bourbon into a small glass. "I have a few bite marks on me too. Although…" Gabriel purposely drew out the word, a wicked gleam in his eye. "…I don't have a bite mark on my ass."

"I do not have a—" Sam glanced at the row of customers seated at the counter, and although many of them seemed preoccupied with other things a few were obviously watching his exchange with Gabriel. "There's nothing there," He hissed.

Gabriel smiled as he passed the glass of bourbon to a middle-aged man at the counter. "You sure about that, Sam? Did you take a look at your butt this morning?"

Sam mentally cursed Gabriel. The archangel knew Sam hadn't; the only mirror in the hotel room had been in the bathroom, and Sam had gotten dressed in the bedroom while Gabriel showered.

Gabriel snickered and nodded in the direction of the billiard tables. "The bathroom is in that direction if you want to check."

Sam gritted his teeth. He didn't want to give Gabriel the satisfaction of seeming him run to the bathroom in a panic, but his curiosity gnawed at him unrelentingly. Temptation won out, and Sam grumbled as he marched toward the bathroom. He did his best to ignore Gabriel's laughter, but the sound was like a worm burrowing into his skin.

Sam locked the bathroom door behind him as he entered what was little better than a white-tiled closet. The room was built for only one occupant, so at least he didn't have to deal with getting rid of anyone who might pop out a stall while he examined his butt. Sam glared at the mirror on the wall as if it was the reason why he was in his current predicament.

He tugged down his jeans and boxers just enough to expose his buttocks. He turned so his butt so it faced the mirror and craned his head over his shoulder. There wasn't a mark to be seen on his bottom. With a contented grunt, he pulled up his pants. He moved to march out of the bathroom and declare his victory to Gabriel, but a thought crept along his mind, and once again curiosity took hold of him. Slowly, he lifted his shirt. Inch by inch he pulled up his shirt, unveiling the skin of his back peppered with tiny bruises.

Awkwardness twisted in Sam's gut, as the events of the prior night were made more real to him.

He lowered his shirt and took a deep breath and squared his shoulders, refusing to let his uneasiness show as he left the bathroom and strolled up to counter. Gabriel looked expectantly at Sam. When the hunter remained impassive, Gabriel laughed under his breath and waved Sam to the back of the counter. "C'mon, Hubby, we got some time before we get the rush and I want to do something with you."

Sam stopped mid-step. "Should I be scared?"

Gabriel snorted in amusement. He held up his fingers in a boy scout salute. "I promise no harm or harassment will come to you."

Cautiously, Sam slid behind the bar, and Gabriel gestured to the plethora of alcohol that surrounded them. "All right, Sam, pick out a drink for me."

"I don't think you are allowed to drink on the job."

"Pssh," Gabriel batted the comment away. "Natalie will be here in a bit, I'll drink it on my break."

"I don't think that is allowed either."

Gabriel put his hands on his hips. "Just make the damn drink."

A spark of rebellion flared in Sam, and he scanned the cooler behind the counter for the beverage he had in mind for Gabriel. He spotted the green bottle. The label of the bottle featured a radiant Christian cross in between the antlers of a stag. With a flick of one wrist he grabbed a shot glass off the shelf and slammed it on the counter. He then snatched the alcohol out of the cooler and with a simple twist of the cap poured it into the shot glass. He then recapped the bottle. "That's all you get."

Sam expected Gabriel to scowl or pick up the shot glass and drain it, so he was thrown when Gabriel merely plucked the bottle from his hand and examined the label. "Jägermeister." He nodded. "Seemingly simple, but actually quite complex in its making. Really bitter tasting too, and highly recommended to keep cool." He hummed. "Not bad."

A mix between a scoff and a bitter laugh escaped Sam. "Don't tell me you are determining my personality based off of my drink choice."

"Don't knock it. They do it all the time on shows like _Millionaire Matchmaker_ and _The Bachelor_ , or was it the _The Bachelorette?_ I sometimes get my dating shows confused. I am pretty sure it was on _Tila Tequila_ , though."

Sam swallowed his thoughts on the subject of the validity of reality TV.

Gabriel stored the bottle of Jägermeister then reached for the shot, instead of downing it, though, he lifted it to Sam's lips. Sam jerked and backed away a step. Gabriel smirked as he brought the shot to Sam's lips again. "You didn't expect me to drink this? Come on, Sam. I could get fired for drinking on the job."

Tricked! He had so been tricked, and Gabriel was looking as smug as ever as he pressed the rim of the glass to Sam's lips.

"Ass." Sam took the shot and downed it in one gulp.

Gabriel waved his finger in mock chastising. "That's only round one, Hubby. I still have to make a drink for you, and I promise you, you're going to love it. Now, get the hell out from behind the bar." He shoved Sam in the shoulders, forcing the hunter out from behind the counter.

Sam returned to his seat, fingers poised to type in another phrase into Google that might help him with his soul mate situation. Gabriel cleared his throat, garnering Sam's attention. "By the way," Gabriel said, "This is my special recipe, so no peeking."

Sam nodded.

Gabriel grinned. "Let me make myself clearer: Cover your eyes."

"You're joking."

Gabriel shook his head.

Sam sighed in exasperation, but did as instructed. Might as well keep Gabriel in a good mood and use the opportunity to entice Gabriel into going on a road trip with Dean, Castiel, and himself. "So how are you handling everything?"

"Better." Sam could hear the smile in Gabriel's voice. "Nothing like work to help you reground yourself."

"So exactly how do you feel in the scheme of things when it comes to…well…this?" Sam wiggled his ring finger, indicating their marriage.

"Honestly, that is probably the easiest thing to handle right now."

Sam frowned, not expecting that response. "Even though it could be permanent?"

Rustling came from behind the bar. "As I told you, I am not a huge fan of marriage, but then again, we're supposedly soul mates, so at least I don't have to worry that I married the wrong person. Also, why get worked up about it if there is nothing we can do? Besides," Gabriel paused, "to be perfectly shallow, it's not like I married to an ugly duckling."

"So you probably aren't interested in going on the road until we find a solution?"

There was a long, dramatic, suffering sigh. "That again?"

"I know it's inconvenient, but—"

Gabriel slapped his hands on the counter, sending tiny vibrations up Sam's arms. "It's not just inconvenient. I'm not stupid, all the stuff that happened today, that's probably peanuts compared to the rest of the strange crap out there, and I would bet a week's pay that you and your brother go chasing after it like a pack of dogs after a squirrel. Forgive me, if I am not jumping up and down wanting to get more involved. Because as much as you say I am in danger without you, I can't help but think that I am in the same amount of danger with you."

Gabriel took a deep breath then released it. "Also, I do have a life established here, and while it may not be the best, it's pretty damn good. Sorry, but other than getting to look at your pretty face all day, there really isn't much in it for me to join you three."

Sam was thankful that his hands were hiding his face. He didn't know what expression he wore, but he feared it would reveal the pain that accompanied his longing for a life outside of hunting. He understood all too well Gabriel's desire to avoid digging himself deeper into the supernatural hole. He also could not deny that Gabriel had a point about the danger level.

And honestly, there was a way to protect Gabriel from any angels without forcing him to join the group.

Something clinked on the counter in front of Sam.

"Open your eyes," Gabriel said, his tone switching from annoyed to happy within a span of seconds. If Sam hadn't been present for Gabriel's rant, he would have never guessed the archangel had been upset only a moment ago.

A tall, thin, cylindrical glass rested on a black square napkin in front of Sam. A Marachino cheery bobbed in a vibrant red liquid that had Sam convinced Gabriel had pulled another prank and made a Shirley Temple. He brought the glass to his lips, expecting a rush of sweetness in his mouth. Bitter and sweet swirled together with a hint of spice that gave the drink a kick of flavor as the beverage slid past his lips. Sam almost choked on the unexpected taste, but forced down the beverage. Clearing his throat he took a sip and swirled the drink around in his mouth, trying to discover the ingredients. "What the heck is this?"

Gabriel pressed a finger to his lips.

Sam swallowed another mouthful when he couldn't decipher the contents with just a sip.

"Told you, you'd love it."

Sam held the glass under his nose and took a whiff. "Seriously, what is in this?" He took a swig.

Gabriel rested his elbows on the counter and cupped his face as he grinned cheekily. "C'mon, Sam, stroke my ego and praise me already."

Sam snorted.

"You know, if you really want to make me believe you don't like it, you should really stop drinking it."

"I never said I disliked it," Sam countered.

Gabriel preened.

Sam put the glass down on the counter, and took a deep breath as he braced himself for all the trouble he was about to get himself into for what he would say. "I get it, but if you want to stay here, I am going to have to ask you to get a tattoo."

Gabriel cocked his head, his features twisting with concerned disapproval. "Please don't tell me you want us to get our names tattooed on each other, because I thought between the two of us, you were the one most upset about us being married, and matching ink just takes this whole situation an unnecessary step further."

Sam snorted in amusement. "No, it's a sigil that will keep you off the…" Sam's eyes darted around the room for eavesdroppers. "…heavenly radar." A thought hit Sam. "Actually, do you," Sam lowered his voice, "hear things?"

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Don't you think I would have mentioned that earlier?"

"Okay." Sam nodded as he processed the information. So Gabriel couldn't hear the other angels, but why not? One theory Sam had was that Gabriel had disconnected himself from Heaven and because he hadn't reconnected before dying perhaps he had returned disconnected. The other possibility was that God did it. Of course that led to more questions, such as why would God return Gabriel to Earth but without his memories? Was it penance? Was it to teach Gabriel about humanity?

Sam pushed aside the questions for the moment as he pulled out his cell phone. "Know any good tattoo parlor's nearby?"

"There's one around the corner, _Auntie Tit's Tats._ "

"Sounds classy."

"It is when the owner owes you a few favors that can be redeemed in the form of an angel repelling tattoo."

Sam flipped open his phone to find a text message from Dean. He opened the message and found an address to what he assumed was the motel Dean had checked himself into with Castiel. Sam pushed his stool back and stood. He pointed to a spot in the room lacking occupants. "I'm gonna call Dean and get him to bring Cas down to the parlor after your shift."

"That's fine with me, but do you really need to do that?"

Sam nodded. "Cas is the one who knows what the sigil looks like."

"Fine, fine." Gabriel waved Sam toward the desolate corner in the room. "Just tell your brother that he can go fuck himself if he tries to convince me to join you guys. I'm only tolerating you because you're cute and my soul mate. Oh, and I get off in six hours."

"Thanks," Sam said drily. Sam went to the corner and punched the button that would speed dial Dean's first cell phone.

Dean picked up in two rings. "Sam?"

"Hey Dean, do you think in about six hours, you and Cas could meet me at _Auntie Tit's Tats_?"

"Is that a tattoo parlor or a strip joint?"

Sam snickered. "Parlor. I figured we better get Gabriel inked so the angels can't find him."

There was a pause on the other end of the line. "Yeah, and the anti-possession tattoo too. I don't think Cas has one yet, so he can join Gabriel in the chair." Dean didn't say anything or make any sound, but Sam sensed his older brother was smiling. "How much do you want to bet that we're going to have a repeat of what happened with Kevin and his mom?"

"I doubt Gabriel would panic, and didn't Cas already get the tattoo for angels?"

"Oh yeah…"

Sam frowned. He recognized that wistful tone. "Dean, are you picturing Cas naked?"

Dean spluttered. "No. I'm just recalling what the tattoo looked like."

"You mean the one that until last night we hadn't seen because it is hidden under Cas' clothes?"

"Shut up." Dean grumbled something incomprehensible. After his mini-rant was finished he cleared his throat. "So what did Gabriel say?"

Sam ran a hand through his hair, bracing himself for the fit Dean was about to throw. "He doesn't want to join us, and honestly, Dean, I agree with him."

"You what?" Before Sam could explain himself, Dean cut him off. "Have you lost your mind? What part of having an amnesiac archangel running around in Vegas sounds good to you?"

Dean's anger was like a disease, infecting Sam. "What would he do with us, Dean? Do you plan to teach him to be a hunter, or do you want him sitting around at the hideout all day like Kevin? He's got a good life here, and unless he is in immediate danger, then there is no point in forcing him out of his home. If we really need him, we can come back and get him, or maybe if we asked nicely he could hop on a plane and meet us wherever we are."

"And what about him ratting out Cas?"

"That can't happen if the angels don't find him, and that's exactly what the tattoo is for."

Dean didn't say anything. There was some rustling and a faint but deep voice in the background—Castiel, most likely. Dean mumbled something and there was a shuffling sound.

"Hello, Sam."

Sam jumped a bit at Castiel's voice. "Hey, Cas. Dean treating you well?"

"We have had a few debates concerning our priorities in regards to terminating our marriages and Metatron, however, now that the initial shock is fading, Dean is starting to see reason."

There was a sound from Dean in the background.

Sam prompted Castiel to continue.

"As I was saying, Gabriel's presence here could be a gift. Once Dean gave up on his pursuit—" There was a another sound from Dean. "Forgive me, once he _temporarily_ gave up on his search for ways to annul our marriage, we worked together to find the location of Gabriel's grace. While we were not able to find any reports on meteor showers around Vegas in the last four years, we did find a report of such near the location of the Elysian Fields Hotel."

Disbelief punched Sam in the gut. "You're kidding."

"It could just be a coincidence, but it is worth checking. If Gabriel's grace is there, then he can retain his powers and perhaps stop Metatron."

Sam shook his head. "That's great, but he's pretty adamant."

"Just tell him that he'll get his powers and memories back if he comes with us and he'll come running," Dean's voice suddenly poured out from the speaker, catching Sam off guard.

Sam glanced at Gabriel from the corner of his eye. The archangel was laughing and talking with a young girl dressed in a similar outfit to what Gabriel was wearing. She patted Gabriel on the back as he sidled past her and she took his place behind the counter while he slipped into the back room. "I don't know if that will work."

Dean scoffed. "Did you not see his face? The guy wants his memories back."

Sam gnawed on his bottom lip. Dean had a point, but there was something in Sam's gut that swore up and down his brother was wrong.

Dean sighed. "You know what, don't even bother. I'll meet you at the tattoo parlor and talk to him myself."

"What? No. Dean—" The phone clicked and the end time flashed across the phone's screen. Sam cursed under his breath. Why did Dean have to be such a stubborn jerk when it came to these kind of things? Sam flipped his phone shut and trudged toward the counter. Natalie formally introduced herself to him and asked if he wanted anything as he retook his seat. Five minutes later Gabriel returned from the back.

"Be prepared for Dean later," Sam warned.

"Jackass," Gabriel mumbled. A second later his shoulders jumped together and he glanced at Sam. He then shrugged and went about rearrange some glasses on the shelf that had gotten jostled from him grabbing them in a hurry. "That might have been too strong a word, but he really is, you know."

Sam held up his hands in a show of no weapons. "I know, but he's my brother."

The remaining six hours of Gabriel's shift passed uneventfully until the late afternoon rush in which two more bartenders showed up. Although, between making drinks and flirting with customers Gabriel managed to wiggled out a few laughs from Sam, a fact that surprised Sam, but he didn't mind.

Sam spent his time looking more into soul mates, and when he hit a dead end he researched the meteor shower Castiel had mentioned. It seemed too convenient, but maybe that was the point. If God was the one responsible for Gabriel's return perhaps he wanted Gabriel to confront his past in order to regain his powers? Sam mulled over the theory as he turned off his laptop and stuffed it into his bag. Gabriel came out of the back room a few seconds later, dressed in his street attire and his uniform folded over his arms.

"You ready, Sasquatch?"

Sam nodded as he slung his bag over his shoulder.

The bar was packed with bodies—more than Sam predicted would be at such small location—and getting through them might have required Moses' staff, assuming the artifact did more than spread plagues. Being a giant did have its advantages though, and most of the people stepped out of Sam's way. Gabriel was a different matter. Sam found himself stopping more than once for Gabriel to sidle past a large group. One such encounter ended with Gabriel's hands grazing a woman's breast, to which Sam shot Gabriel a suspicious look.

Gabriel chuckled as he took a step toward Sam that reduced the distance between them to inches. "I think I need a little help." He held his hand palm up. "Be my knight in shining armor?"

Sam rolled his eyes, but snatched Gabriel's hand and led the smaller man out of the bar with little trouble. A blast of cold air wracked Sam's body as he exited the small establishment. He released his grip on Gabriel, but the archangel's fingers remained curled around his hand.

Sam cleared his throat as Gabriel took the lead, hauling Sam down the sidewalk and maneuvering around excited groups of people frolicking around the neighborhood. "You can let go of my hand, you know," Sam said.

Gabriel let out a long-suffering sigh. "Let's be honest here, there are not going to be any sex-capades in the near future, and I'll be lucky if I get a kiss, so all I ask from you out of this marriage is the right to hold your hand."

"Are you serious?"

Gabriel scowled, swinging their interlocked hands like a five-year-old. "I am a very physical creature, Sam."

He'd only have to deal with Gabriel's childish antics for a few more hours, Sam reminded himself. As embarrassing as it would be to walk around with Gabriel as if they were a real couple, it would be less stressful in the end. Also, it wasn't as anyone knew who he was. "Fine." He squeezed Gabriel's hand.

Gabriel pumped his fist in victory as the approached a brick building with a purple neon sign that flashed _Auntie Tit's Tats_. A large window along the wall allowed Sam to spy Dean talking to a middle-aged woman with more ink than skin and a bob that started shocking green and faded to blue. Dean tugged on the collar of his shirt, revealing his anti-possession tattoo to the woman. She nodded, and Dean waved at something behind him. Castiel stepped out from behind a display case.

A bell overhead chimed as Gabriel held open the door for Sam. "Hey, Tit, I see you met my new relatives. Did they tell you that you finally get to fulfill your dream of drawing on my body?"

The inked woman, Tit, roamed her gaze over Sam then scoffed. "Nice husband, good luck." She reached over to Dean and yanked down his collar and pointed at the tattoo. "So you gettin' this like blue eyes over here?"

Sam's throat was dry. Dean was staring at his hand clasped with Gabriel's. He loosened his hold, hoping Gabriel would take the hint, but Gabriel's fingers clung to him like a Boa Constrictor.

"Well?" Gabriel asked the room.

"I believe Gabriel came here to receive this tattoo." Castiel lifted the side of his shirt, revealing the Enochian symbol along his ribs. "However, the one Dean showed you would also be wise to imprint on him."

Gabriel stiffened. "Hey, the deal was only one tattoo."

"Safety precaution," Dean said in a voice that left no room for argument.

Gabriel huffed, annoyed but resigned. "Okay, but I draw the line at two." Gabriel focused his attention on Tit. "So two for me, and looks and sounds like he's getting one too." Gabriel tilted his chin at Castiel. "So calling in my favors to help with the payment, how much is this going to cost?"

Tit frowned, scrutinizing the group. "You got yourself one weird family. Everyone gets matching tattoos?" She shook her head, a green and blue strand falling into her face. "I'll do it for free." She pulled out her cell phone. "Come over here, blue eyes, I'm going to take a picture of your tattoo for reference." She turned to Dean. "I'm going to need you to show me yours too."

Tit snapped the photos and led Gabriel to a bench where she had him remove his jacket and shirt before instructing him to lie on his side. She pointed at three plastic chairs and told the remainder of the group to take a seat. "Everyone else is busy now, but when Judy gets back from her dinner I'll have her take care of you," She told Castiel.

Castiel nodded.

"So what was with the hand holding?" Dean said in a hushed breath once they were in their chairs, so Gabriel wouldn't overhear.

"Just trying to be nice," Sam answered.

"Nice? Nice is offering someone a slice of pie when they are having a rough day. Hand holding is—"

"Something five-year-olds do, so I really don't see why you're so concerned."

Dean shifted in his seat so he was angled toward Sam. "I'm concerned because this soul mate thing might be messing with your head."

Dean might as well have taken a knife and cut open an old wound on Sam's chest. It was Ruby all over again, and while Dean had been right about Ruby, he wished Dean trusted that Sam had learned his lesson. His distrust stung and irritated. "And you are completely unaffected by it, right?" Sam attacked with sarcasm.

"Yeah."

Sam wrapped his hands around the bottom of his chair and squeezed. He silently reminded himself that punching Dean would not help him no matter how much stress it would relieve.

"I don't believe your new status as Gabriel's soul mate will change who you are or your natural feelings," Castiel said, leaning forward in his seat so he could look Sam in the eye.

The interruption caused Sam and Dean to flinch in surprise.

"Oh yeah?" Dean challenged. "Then explain what's the difference between the past and now? Why even have a bond if it doesn't do something to you?"

"Do you feel you were altered significantly after I rescued you from Hell? Other than the physical loss of your scars."

Dean frowned, his face scrunching as he tried desperately to conjure a memory of a time when he didn't feel like himself. "No."

Castiel nodded. "I believe this 'bond' merely makes us more aware of each other, and due to that awareness we have grown to care for each other and have strengthened that bond."

"That's some girlie-shit, Cas." Dean slumped in his chair, but didn't say anything to contradict the former angel.

Sam flashed Cas a small, thankful smile to which the ex-angel responded to with an acknowledging nod.

Tit finished the sigil on Gabriel's side and asked him to lie on his back. At the same moment, Tit glanced up from Gabriel as a blonde girl with a sloppy bun and paint-covered jeans strolled past. "Judy."

The girl paused and turned just enough so Sam could see the silver cross around Judy's neck.

Tit gestured at Castiel with her needle. "This guy's your next client. I'll text you a picture of what he wants."

Judy nodded before beelining it for the back room.

Tit stood. "Here, follow me. I'll get you set up in the chair while she gets ready." She led Cas to a big, black, cushy chair. She had him strip down to his pants then helped him into the chair. She adjusted the height of the seat and reclined the back. Once Castiel was settled in, Tit returned to Gabriel.

She picked up her needle from her tray. "You ready for round two, Gabe-Babe?"

Gabriel snuggled into the bench and pillowed his head with his hands. He closed his eyes and beamed up at her. "Ready whenever you are Sugar Tits."

A quick, quiet chuckle slipped out of Dean at Gabriel's antics, and relief washed over Sam. Perhaps Dean would relax enough that when he confronted Gabriel about joining them he wouldn't just be a mass of rage shouting at the archangel.

Judy strolled through the shop, her gaze on Castiel's chair intent. A few of her colleagues shouted greetings at her, or tried to get her to join in on a joke, but she acted as if she were deaf to them.

Sam frowned. Sure, not everyone was a social butterfly, but most people would show some signs of acknowledgement.

The girl reached for the needle from her tray beside Castiel.

Gabriel hummed as Tit drew on his skin. His eyes fluttered open—his grin still in place. He turned his head in Castiel's direction. He yelped. "Cas, move!"

Sam and Dean jumped out of their chairs just as Cas rolled out of his seat, just missing the needle Judy slammed into the seat where his heart had been.

Gasps and screams filled the room.

Dean and Sam pulled out their guns, aiming at Judy.

Tit flung herself away from Gabriel, dropping the needle." What the hell, Judy?"

Judy whirled.

Gabriel sat up. "Uh, guys. It's the lights again."

Judy sneered at Gabriel as if he were a squashed worm on the bottom of her shoe. "Who are you?"

Castiel leaped to his feet and lunged at Judy, angel blade aimed for her heart.

Judy spun, arm outstretched and hand out.

An invisible force threw Castiel into the wall just as Sam and Dean unleashed a series of bullets at the angel.

Everyone ran for the back room or exit, except for Dean, Sam and Gabriel, who was so pale he could pass for a cadaver.

Castiel hit the ground with a thunk and his blade rolled out of his grasp.

"Cas?" Dean shouted.

No response.

Sam clenched his teeth as his gut churned with worry for his fallen friend.

"All right, bitch," Dean shouted. "This is your only warning before we gank you. Leave."

Judy ran a hand over her chest, her hand stopping over a bullet wound. Her fingers circled the wound before she wiggled them inside and pulled out the bullet. She held it up like a trophy then flicked it across the room. "I don't think so." She flung her arm out like she did with Castiel.

It was like being sucker punched in the face and gut simultaneously. Sam felt light as a feather as he soared through the air. He was mildly aware of Dean arcing through the air nearby. Pain burst in Sam's back as he collided with a shelf and wall. With a groan he hit the ground just as the sound of glass shattering engulfed the shop.

Sam flopped onto his stomach, using the movement to glance in Dean's direction. He swallowed a hard lump in his throat at the sight of the broken shop window Dean had been tossed through.

Sam shut his eyes, feigning unconsciousness, while under him he felt for his pocketknife in his jacket. With ease he found the blade, opened it, then sliced his palm.

Through his eyelashes he watched as Judy approached Gabriel.

Cursing, Gabriel launched himself off the bench and dove for Castiel's blade. In a blink, Judy appeared before him and crushed his wrist under her sneaker just out of reach of the one weapon that could save him. He hissed in pain.

Sam mentally cussed and hurriedly drew symbols out of view from Judy.

Judy crouched, glaring at Gabriel. "Now, you are going to tell me who you are, and why you can see my true form, or…" Like magic, her blade appeared in her hand and she pressed the tip against Gabriel's throat. "…I will just have kill you."

Finished!

Sam sat up, and slammed his hand on the symbol he'd drawn.

In a flash of white light and a scream, Judy disappeared.

Gabriel's hand flew to his throat.

Sam pushed himself to his feet and ran toward Castiel's side. "Dean?" He shouted at the window.

There was a groan then Dean stumble in over the broken window, clutching his head. "Banged up a bit, but I'm good."

Sam dropped to his knees and skidded to Castiel's side. He checked Castiels' vitals as Dean helped Gabriel up. "Other than waking up with a bad headache, I think Cas is fine."

Dean grunted in understanding, joining Sam. He eyed Castiel for a second then propped Castiel up and slung the ex-angel's arm over his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around Castiel's waist then lifted the Castiel to his feet. "All right, let's get out of here."

"What?" Gabriel squawked, white-knuckling Castiel's blade in his grasp. "We can't just leave."

Dean whirled on Gabriel. "It's that or deal with the police, who—trust me—aren't going to believe a damn thing we say, and we'll just end up in more trouble."

Sirens blared in the distance.

"Damn it," Dean hissed. Without another word, he rushed for the door, taking Castiel with him.

Sam offered his hand to Gabriel. His stomach knotted with sorrow and pity for the confused archangel.

Gabriel stared at the hand, his limbs trembling. A few seconds passed that had Sam's muscles tensing in anticipation of the police barreling through the door. Golden eyes rose to meet Sam's, only to wince in pain. "I can't live here anymore, can I?"

Sam's heart lurched. "It wouldn't be wise. The police will probably show up at your home tonight to interview you."

Gabriel bowed his head, defeated.

The simple act broke the feeble barrier of pride that kept Sam from comforting Gabriel in his time of mourning. He grabbed Gabriel's hand and squeezed it as hard he could, trying to communicate his sympathy and regret silently.

Gabriel squeezed back.

They disappeared into the night, silently mourning the end of a normal life.


	3. Chapter 3

Sam jerked awake as a pothole jostled the Impala. He blinked as he took in his surroundings. He heard a muffled grunt of annoyance from Dean that had to do with the fact that he hadn't been able to avoid the pothole, thus risking injury to his precious "Baby". A large green sign on the side of the road informed Sam that they were not in Nevada anymore, and the sky was purple as the sun slowly rose.

Soft snores from the backseat reminded Sam of their guests' presence.

Sam twisted in his seat, craning his head around the shoulder. The side of Gabriel's face was plastered on the window—his breath fogging the glass—while his legs dipped into Castiel's foot space. The intrusion was allowable mutual. Castiel laid half on top of Gabriel's side, using Gabriel's shoulder as a pillow.

Sam chuckled.

Dean glanced in the rear view mirror. He snorted in mild amusement. "Almost like having two puppies." He frowned. "They better not mess up my backseat."

"I think they are housebroken, Dean."

Instead of nodding his assent, Dean's frown deepened. "Are we absolutely certain about Cas?"

Sam chuckled, but punched Dean in the arm. "Don't be a jerk. For all you know he's just pretending to be asleep back there."

"Yeah, right."

"I am awake." Castiel sat up, and Dean jumped in his seat. Castiel ran a hand through his mussed up dark curls as he blinked away sleep. "My body continues to feel heavy and in need of rest, however, it seems I am incapable of returning to slumber. I find this event most unfortunate. I truly never understood how much humanity suffers if this is a regular occurrence for all humans."

Red tinged Dean's cheeks, and Sam resisted the urge to tease Dean mercilessly. "You didn't hear what I just said, did you, Cas?"

"I assure you Dean, I know that it is considered highly inappropriate to urinate in the vehicle of a friend."

"Not just urinate," Dean said.

Castiel nodded. "I am aware defecation is also not acceptable."

"You can say 'number two' or 'shit,' Cas," Sam said.

Castiel nodded. "I will keep that in mind."

Gabriel groaned as tiny spasms wracked his body. He opened his eyes a crack. His eyes darted about the car and another groan of annoyance escaped him as he pressed his nose against the glass. "I swear to God, if you do not stop somewhere for food in the next five minutes, I will murder all of you." He scrunched his nose. "Sam gets to live if he promises steamy make out sessions and more."

"I would also like to stop somewhere to use the facilities," Castiel added.

Dean flicked his turn indicator as a sign declaring an exit in a quarter mile passed by. "Feels like I'm babysitting Sammy again."

"Huh?" Sam put a finger to his cheek as if he were deeply pondering something. "I was about to say the same thing about you."

Dean grinned and shoved Sam. "Oh please, we both know who the caretaker is around here."

"Funny, I recall constantly having to go out to get you food, and taking care of you whenever you lost track of the number of drinks you had."

They shared a smile as they turned off the road.

"Uh…" Gabriel nudged Castiel and leaned in as if to whisper conspiratorially in the ex-angel's ear. "Are we absolutely certain those two aren't the ones married?"

Dean flipped Gabriel the middle finger.

Gabriel smirked. "Right back at you, brother."

Dean cringed.

Sam studied Gabriel in the mirror. The archangel acted like everything was fine, but it had to be a façade. Sam had to admit it was a convincing act, but experience with Dean and several hunters that suffered the same inability to express anything that could be taken as weakness helped Sam see the smile wasn't as large as it had been just a few hours ago at the bar. The same was true of his eyes that usually glimmered with mischief or simple joy but were just a tad dimmer right then.

Gabriel whistled lowly as Dean pulled into the parking lot of the first diner he spotted. "Don't go to any trouble to find us something fancy, or you know, a place that looks like it passed its health inspection."

Dean killed the engine. "You'll take what you get."

Castiel bobbed his head in agreement. "It is just nice to have food."

Sam didn't miss the wince on his brother's face. As if trying to flee from the reminder of what Castiel had been forced to bear for almost a month, Dean scrambled out of the Impala and into the diner.

Castiel followed Dean inside, appearing unaware of Dean's guilt. Gabriel's was right behind the ex-angel when Sam wrapped his hand around the archangel's forearm, holding him back.

Gabriel eyed Sam's grip then beamed up at him. "Is this your way of saying you want to make out, because I am one-hundred percent for that."

Sam dropped his hand. "I just wanted to make sure you are okay."

For a second, Gabriel's face was twisted in agony, but he smoothed over that pain with a smile. "Really, Sam? You're going to ask me that question? Isn't it obvious?"

Sam took a step forward, determined to let Gabriel know that he wasn't falling for his act. "Yes, which is why I am asking."

"Careful, Hubby, it sounds like you care."

"I do."

Gabriel jerked at the statement. His eyes widened to the size of saucers and he looked like Sam had started shooting rainbows out of his ass.

Sam gritted his teeth, shoving a hand in his jacket pocket to hide the way his fingers clenched. He really didn't want to spell it out for Gabriel, but considering what the guy had gone through, he would allow himself this. "You might have done some shitty stuff to me and my brother in the past, but you're still a good person, so, yes, I care about you."

"And not because this soul mate thing might mean that when one of us dies the other will as well?"

Sam gave Gabriel a pointed look that told Gabriel just how much of an idiot Sam thought Gabriel was for even thinking such a thing.

Gabriel shrugged. "What? It's a legitimate question."

Sam exhaled a tension-filled breath. His nerves sparked to life when a hand gently touched his arm then squeezed it. Sam followed the invading hand up the arm of its owner to the face of Gabriel. The archangel offered a small, sorrow-tainted, smile that might have upset someone else, but the sight of it got rid of the last vestiges of tension in Sam. As sad as the expression was, it was genuine.

"I'm pissed and want to kick the ass of the angel who attacked me, but I'll be fine eventually." Gabriel patted Sam's arm as he released the hunter. "Thanks for asking."

Sam shrugged. "Got to look out for my husband."

Gabriel burst with laughter, and the corners of Sam's mouth lifted, delighted to see real mirth on Gabriel's face.

"So let's get you some food." Sam cocked his chin at the diner, and took a step toward it.

"Actually, would you mind ordering me something? I just got an idea for something that will definitely relieve some stress." Gabriel grinned wickedly, gazing across the street at what looked like a vintage store.

Sam paused, worry gnawing at his gut. Was this an attempt to run away on Gabriel's part?

Gabriel huffed, hand going to his hip as he gestured with his thumb at the diner. "I promise I will meet you in there in five minutes—ten minutes top. If I don't show up after that you have my permission to hunt me down, drag my ass into the car, and lock me inside it for the rest of the trip."

Something told Sam he would regret his decision later, but he yielded to Gabriel's request.

"Excellent." Gabriel clapped his hands and rubbed them together like an over-the-top villain. "Be a dear and order me a short stack with—"

"Strawberry syrup?"

Gabriel blinked owlishly. "Yeah…how did you—"

"Lucky guess."

Gabriel mock scowled. "Liar. I ordered that in the past, didn't I?"

Sam grinned, spun on his heel, and marched toward the diner. "You're going to have to join us if you want the answer."

"You crafty son of bitch." Gabriel feigned rage as he shook his fist dramatically in the air then darted across the street to the shop.

The hinges on the diner door squeaked as Sam entered. A waitress at the register greeted him with a smile and told him she'd be with him in a moment. Sam waved her off and pointed at the booth where Dean and Castiel sat next to each other. Dean watched as Castiel hesitantly sipped from a steaming mug. The ex-angel's nose wrinkled as he sniffed the beverage.

"It's not poison, Cas." Dean snatched the mug out of Castiel's hands and took a swig from the mug to demonstrate before handing it back to Castiel.

Castiel took a sip and his face scrunched in distaste. "The aroma is superior to the flavor."

"Coffee?" Sam asked as he slid into the booth across from his brother and Castiel. Castiel nodded, and the waitress showed up with a notepad in hand. Dean ordered a burger for breakfast while Sam allowed himself a plate of bacon and eggs—he'd been careful with his eating habits for the last few weeks, so a treat wouldn't hurt.

The waitress turned to Castiel, who was studying the menu like it was the most convoluted puzzle in the world. "It all looks so delicious."

"Anything jumping out in particular?" Dean asked.

Castiel flipped a page of the menu. "Well, there is Big Billy's Specialty Burger. There is also the chicken salad I have seen Sam order many times, however, from the breakfast menu I like the Grand Slam."

"You get all that?" Dean asked the waitress.

Sam was grateful he hadn't been drinking anything right then or he might have spat it out. "Seriously?"

The uncertain smile on the waitress face as she pressed her pencil against the pad revealed that she had the same question as Sam.

Dean nodded. "If he wants those things, then he gets it. Oh, and two slices of peach pie. One for me and one for him."

The waitress wrote down the order and hurried off to the kitchen to deliver it to the chef.

"Thank you, Dean," Castiel said.

Dean shoulder bumped Castiel. "No problem."

Sam chuckled. "You may not be so grateful when your stomach feels like it's going to explode from all of that food." He muttered a thanks when the waitress set a mug of coffee in front of him.

Dean huffed, placing his mug to his lips, trying to maintain his uninterested tough guy appearance. "He'll doggy bag it." Dean frowned then looked around the diner. "Where is your boyfriend, by the way?"

"Don't belittle our relationship, Dean; we're married," Sam joked. Based on the slight opening of Castiel's mouth, it appeared Castiel had been about to say the same thing, but in a more chastising and serious manner. "He saw a shop nearby and decided to check it out." Sam glanced at the round, black and white clock on the wall. "He's got two minutes to get here before I am allowed to hunt him down and chain him to the car."

"Forget chaining him, we'll just throw him into the trunk like Crowley."

"You had Crowley in your trunk?" Castiel asked.

Dean grinned at the memory. "Yup."

A squeak came from behind Sam, and he angled himself in time to see Gabriel saunter into the diner with a large plastic bag dangling from his wrist. The archangel looked like a satisfied cat high on catnip. Sam rose to get out of the booth and let Gabriel have the inside seat, but Gabriel shoved him back into place and took the outside seat. "So guess what I found."

"Your audition tape for _Casa Erotica_?" Dean deadpanned.

Gabriel opened his mouth, glee still prominent on his face, but then Dean's words sunk in and the smile disappeared. "Did I really audition for porn?"

Sam cupped his mug, letting the warmth seep into his fingers. "More like you crashed the party."

Gabriel mulled over the new information. A second later the spark of delight was back on his face. "Just more evidence that I am awesome, but that is beside the point here." He held up the bulky plastic bag. "Last chance for you guys to guess." No one responded. Gabriel dropped the bag on the floor and fished through it until he pulled out a small, black, paperback book with a picture of two Fabio wannabes on the cover.

"Fuck!" Dean lunged across the table to swipe the book from Gabriel's hands.

Sam slouched in his chair, envisioning himself in an eight-foot deep hole.

Castiel cocked his head, leaning into Dean to get a better look at the book in Dean's hand. His eyes lit up with recognition. "Ah, the Winchester Gospels."

"Where did you find these?" Dean thrust the book into Gabriel's smug face.

Gabriel calmly took the book from Dean and flipped through it, looking immensely pleased with himself. "At the shop across the street. They're a giant hipster store. If it's old or unknown to most of the public, it's sold there." He dropped the book into the bag. "Besides, it's only fair that if you guys know things about me then I should know a few things about you two."

Dean didn't get a chance to respond, because at that moment the waitress returned with a tray full of food. She delivered each order to its correct spot, however, she did need to clarify if the pancakes or eggs and bacon were intended for Gabriel.

Sam held back a snicker as Gabriel laughed at Castiel, who was surrounded by so much food he had his own personal edible Wall of China. Even Castiel was awestruck by the amount of food in front of him that he required a minute's worth of reassurances from Dean that all the food was intended for him. Once Castiel felt more secure, he dove into the food, moaning at what he described as a delectable taste.

Dean intently focused on his food, doing his best to ignore the noises Castiel made, although, there was a tiny a smile on his lips—happy to see Castiel's simple joy over the food.

Gabriel nudged Sam. His eyes darted between Dean and Castiel then returned to Sam. He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Sam grinned in return, but didn't say anything.

The quartet spent the next ten minutes devouring their meals. "So what exactly is the plan?" Gabriel asked through a mouthful of pancake.

Dean bit into his burger, swallowing the bite a second later. "We're going to get your powers back, and then you're going to kick some angel ass."

Gabriel sliced off a triangle of pancake from his stack then pierced the piece with his fork. "That doesn't sound too bad." He hummed in thought. "Might even be nice to know that I can kick the ass of that bitch from the tattoo parlor." He grinned at Sam. "I'll also get to play hero when you get in trouble."

"Thanks for the offer, but I can take care of myself." Sam pushed around his eggs, deciding if he wanted to eat what remained. He wasn't hungry anymore, but he wasn't full either.

"The return of your powers may also mean the return of your memories," Castiel said.

Gabriel's relaxed demeanor transformed in an instant. His shoulder blades jumped together and he sat up straighter. The sudden movement stole Sam's attention. He watched Gabriel for any clue as to what was running through the archangel's head. All he could pick up, though, was Gabriel's shock at the revelation.

Gabriel caught Sam staring and he slouched into his seat, purposefully focusing all of his attention on his pancakes to avoid Sam's silent inquiry.

Sam sighed, annoyed that Gabriel was once again keeping things from him. "You okay?"

Gabriel frowned, twirling a piece of pancake on his fork. "I don't know."

* * *

The remainder of breakfast passed without incident. Sam led Gabriel and Castiel out to the Impala as Dean paid the bill with one of their fake credit cards. He helped Castiel into the backseat by holding onto the large sack of leftover food that weighed the ex-angel down. Sam opened his mouth to offer Gabriel help with his bag too, but the archangel was already buckled inside the car and reading one of his books.

Sam situated himself in the passenger seat just as Dean entered the car. In a swift series of movement, Dean had himself strapped to his seat and had turned the keys.

A woman's voice blared from the speakers.

"What the hell?" Dean scowled, whirling on Sam.

Sam held up his hands, signaling he had nothing to do with removal of Dean's tapes.

Gabriel sniggered.

Growling like a wild beast, Dean twisted like a snake in his chair and glared venomously at Gabriel. "No one messes with Baby."

"Well, then I guess it's a good thing I only messed with your cassettes." Gabriel crossed his hands behind his head and leaned back.

"You—"

"Is the woman really singing about the loss of a cake left out in the rain?" Castiel leaned forward to hear the music better and cocked his head.

Everyone paused and listened to what Sam finally recognized as Donna Summer singing.

The lyrics followed and music changed and then the line Castiel heard came again. " _Someone left the cake out in the rain/I don't think that I can take it/ 'cause it took so long to bake it/ and I'll never have that recipe again._ "

"Huh," Sam said, not certain how to feel, even as his lips twitched with the urge to curl upward.

Dean punched the stop and eject buttons, grumbling to himself all the while as he rifled through the compartment where he kept his cassettes. He tossed the Donna Summer tape at Gabriel's head, and he shoved another tape into the player. Zeppelin flooded the car. Dean peeled out of the parking lot, holding up one finger at Gabriel. "That was your one warning. You mess with Baby again and I shove your hand in a blender."

Gabriel scoffed and buried his face in his book. "So violent." He peeked over the top of his book and smirked at Sam.

Sam bit his lower lip to keep from laughing. If he laughed Dean's temper would rise, and he didn't want to deal with a furious Dean for the rest of the car ride.

* * *

After almost sixteen hours of driving with only stops for food, gas, and bathroom breaks, Sam convinced Dean to park at a motel. They were only a few more hours away from the Elysian Fields, but Dean hadn't slept since his wedding night, so Sam felt it only wise to rest somewhere until dawn. He had also offered to drive, but Dean had been adamant about who would drive. Gabriel's minor prank had triggered Dean's protective side toward his Baby it seemed.

Sam pulled out his bag from the trunk of the Impala as Dean went inside to take care of getting rooms for the quartet. Castiel followed Dean like a puppy, while Gabriel stood outside the Impala, momentarily torn, before he mimicked Castiel. Sam slammed the trunk shut, swung his bag onto his shoulder, and strolled into the motel.

"Stop being a girl and just get a room with two queens," Gabriel groused at Dean.

Dean flinched, but tried to hide it behind a scowl. "You just want to take advantage of Sam."

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Dumbass." Gabriel grabbed Castiel's arm and pulled the ex-angel toward him. "Cas and I will share one bed, and you and Sam will share the other, or is the thought of brothers sharing a bed too much for your ego?"

"What are you, a five-year-old?" Dean spotted Sam and gestured between them. "We're too old to share a bed. Same goes for you two."

"Pfft." Gabriel crossed his arms over his chest. "Ego, and no, I am not a five-year-old. I am the only one being fiscally responsible around here. The amount of money you'd spend on an extra room would be enough to buy the four of us a meal each."

Castiel, who had been watching the exchange between Dean and Gabriel with curiosity, went ramrod straight at that. "I believe Gabriel is right in this situation."

"Cas, we're fine. We have enough money to get by," Dean said.

"For now," Castiel responded.

Sam stepped up to reception desk, deciding that he better intervene before insults were thrown and feelings were bruised (more). "We'll take a room with two queens, please."

"Sam," Dean hissed.

"Two against one, Dean."

"You got a problem with the math there."

"No, I don't, because I don't care either way, so Gabriel and Cas win." Sam produced a credit card and showed the matching ID that went with it to the receptionist, who swiftly rung them up. Once the card went through, the receptionist handed over four card keys with instructions how to get to the room the group was staying in.

Dean acted like a petulant child the whole walk to the room, griping the whole time. However, the second the room was in sight, Dean picked up his pace and took the lead. He ran his card through the reader. There was a loud click as the door unlocked, and with a push on the door handle and a kick to the door, Dean marched inside, dumping his bag on the bed closest to the entrance.

Sam scanned the room, noting a beat up mini-fridge in the corner. "C'mon, Cas, I'll show you where to store your food until morning."

"Thank you, Sam." Castiel trailed after Sam, holding his bag of leftovers close to his chest. The size of the contents of the bag had diminished greatly since that morning, but there were still a few boxes within. Sam took the boxes out and popped them open to make sure nothing had spoiled in the car. When Sam deemed only one box unsanitary, he stuffed the rest into the fridge. He went to throw away the spoiled food, but had to argue with Castiel for five minutes before he could toss it. Even after doing so, Castiel eyed the bin in a way that made Sam think the ex-angel would rummage through the garbage later and eat it.

Sam pushed down the urge to run through the list of reasons why Castiel shouldn't eat spoiled food with the ex-angel again and flopped onto the bed next to Dean, splaying his arms out. Dean grunted as Sam's arm smacked into his leg, but didn't say anything; his eyes were glued to the TV screen. Sam closed his eyes and let himself relax to the sound of _Raiders of the Lost Ark_.

As the stress and tension evaporated from his shoulders, Sam turned his head toward the other bed in the room. Castiel sat cross-legged on the edge of the bed, entranced by the glowing screen even as his eyes and head drooped with the need for sleep. Gabriel rested against the headboard. One of the _Supernatural_ books occupied his hands, vying for his attention from the TV. As if sensing Sam's stare, he tore his gaze away from the TV and glanced at the younger hunter. He raised an eyebrow.

Sam sat up and nodded at the door. "I think I saw a vending machine around the corner. Want to get something?"

"Sure." Gabriel stood up, causing the mattress to shift and for Castiel to snap his head up as he just barely evaded sleep.

"Get me some Skittles," Dean said.

Sam smacked Dean on the knee. "Sleep. That's the whole reason we're here."

Dean rolled his eyes, but didn't argue.

Sam led Gabriel outside, shivering as a blast of cold air hit him. He shoved his hands in his coat and pressed his arms close to his side to maintain his warmth. The only sources of light were a lamppost in the distance and the soft, orange glow from occupied rooms that were spaced out from each other.

Another gust of wind blew, and Gabriel huddled toward Sam's side, maintaining only a two-inch distance between them. Sam didn't comment, enjoying the bit of warmth that Gabriel emitted and the natural barricade Gabriel was to his flank from the chill.

"So do I need to pay you for these therapy sessions, or do I get them free since we're married?" Gabriel asked.

The question jolted Sam out of his musings.

Gabriel reached up and flicked Sam on the forehead. "Don't give me that innocent look. You and I both know why you asked me out here, and it wasn't for the junk food, my giant herbivore."

Sam was tempted to point out that what he'd had for breakfast, but refused to be distracted. "You didn't seem too happy about regaining your memories."

Gabriel shrugged. "I'm an archangel who has lived for centuries—millennia. That's a lot of time to do terrible things, such as force a guy to watch his brother die over a hundred times. Forgive me, if I am a little hesitant."

"But it's also a lot of time to do good things."

"Did I come off as good guy before?" Gabriel's voice took on a challenging tone, daring Sam to lie and tell him that he been a wonderful person.

"Not at first," Sam admitted as they turned the corner. Just a few feet away was an alcove in the wall with two vending machines, one black and filled with candy and the other blue with the Pepsi logo imprinted on the side. Sam pulled out his wallet and riffled through it for a few bills. "Misguided, if anything. Heck, if I am being completely honest, as horrible as being stuck in that time loop had been, I wish I had listened to you."

Gabriel scoffed, but didn't refute him, which Sam took as a positive.

They slipped into an easy silence as Sam inserted his money into the machine and got Dean his candy and a water bottle for himself. He offered to buy Gabriel something, but the archangel waved him off, and pulled out his own wallet to buy a soda and M&Ms. Gabriel twisted the cap of his soda, garnering a hiss from the bottle. "How did you get rid of angel-girl?"

"I drew a series of markings that when you slam your palm on them sends angels away."

"And these markings, do they have any restrictions?"

"Restrictions?" Sam repeated.

Gabriel gestured with his hand. "Can I draw it with a pen? Does it have to be drawn on a wall, or the floor? Facing east? What are the rules?"

"It just has to be drawn in blood." Curiosity needled Sam. Instinct told Sam that Gabriel was up to something.

Gabriel nodded, pressing a knuckle to his mouth as he processed the information. A look of determination passed on his face and he straightened. "Show me this symbol."

"What are you going to do?"

Gabriel smirked. "Hey, we still got a few hours before we get to our destination, right? That's plenty of time for an impromptu angel attack. I'm just trying to defend myself."

Sam mentally turned over what Gabriel had said, trying to figure out if Gabriel had some sort of elaborate scheme in mind. It would make it easier for Gabriel to survive on his own if he chose to runaway at the last second, which Sam did not want to encourage. Even if such turned out to be the case, Gabriel did have the right to defend himself. "All right," Sam said. "I'll show you."

* * *

"You know, I really like this Trickster guy you two hunted," Gabriel said in between bites of his potato chips. He flipped the page of his book.

Castiel made an amused sound as Dean and Sam exchanged knowing looks.

"Why am I not surprised?" Dean flicked on his turn indicator as they approached the freeway exit that would lead them directly to the Elysian Fields Hotel.

"Hey, the guy's smart and got a wicked sense of humor. Who doesn't love that? Also, if the trickster is who I think it is, by the description he wasn't too bad looking."

Dean turned to Sam. "I don't know. What do you think, Sam? Was the Trickster attractive?"

"Better looking than you."

Dean swatted the side of Sam's head. The Winchesters shared a chuckle as the broken neon signs of the hotel came into view off the freeway.

The back of the Impala bounced as something slammed on top of it.

Dean cursed and hit the brakes as Sam slammed his hands on the dashboard to keep his chin crashing against it. Castiel grabbed the seat and his door in a white knuckle grip while Gabriel pressed himself into his corner of the car and craned his neck to see what had hit them.

"Shit," Dean cursed, switching from braking to accelerating, but the car wouldn't budge, as if someone were holding it in place.

Sam followed Dean's gaze and he cursed. A man in a business suit stood just a few yards away from the front of the car. He strolled towards the vehicle as if he had all the time in the world. He'd only taken five steps when an angel blade appeared in his hand.

"Uh, not to alarm you guys," Gabriel said. "But there's an angel holding onto your rear bumper outside."

Sam twisted and saw a woman in jeans and T-shirt doing exactly as Gabriel had described.

"Give us Castiel and no one gets hurt," the businessman said.

"These assholes really need to get some original dialogue," Dean said. He slammed his foot down on the gas, causing the engine to roar, but nothing happened. He punched the top of his steering wheel. "Okay, anyone got a plan?"

Castiel opened his mouth.

"That does not include sacrificing anyone in the car," Dean interrupted.

Castiel clamped his mouth shut.

Gabriel reached into the bag of books at his feet and pulled out a sheet of paper. Blood stained the paper in the form of the angel banishing sigil. "Time to see if this works." He set the paper against the car window and slammed his hand on the symbol.

Screams filled the air as a blinding white light exploded from where the two angels stood. Sam threw up his arms to shield his eyes. When the screams faded his lowered his arms in time to see Dean doing the same thing.

"What was that?" Dean gasped.

Gabriel held up the sheet of paper. "Mobile-Angel-Begone. Good for almost anything, but does not work on crazy exes."

Castiel pinched the paper between his fingers, his brow furrowing as he studied it. "Fascinating. I had not considered such a method would work."

"Yeah, yeah." Dean guided the car the last quarter mile to the abandoned hotel. "Let's get Gabriel suited up before more of your siblings show up for a family reunion." He drove past the large yellow sign in front of the building and slid into parking spot.

The quartet piled out of the car, pausing for Dean and Sam to get their weapons out of the trunk in case of surprise attack.

Sam sheathed a knife through his belt, catching a glimpse of Gabriel from the corner of his eye. The archangel stared at the rundown hotel, his body slightly leaning towards it and his eyes glazed over. "Gabriel?"

The archangel blinked then shook his head. "Sorry, did you say something?"

"It must be the pull of his Grace," Castiel said. "It's calling out to him."

"Well, that's very comforting," sarcasm dripped from Gabriel's voice.

"Means we're in the right spot," Sam said, strutting up to Gabriel and giving him a pat on the back.

"Which means you better get to walking," Dean said.

"What?" Gabriel jerked his head back.

Dean gestured at the hotel. "There's hundreds of rooms in there and unless you want to spend hours going through all of them you're going to 'sense the force,' Gabriel."

Gabriel balked, guffawing with disbelief. "You want to tell me how I'm going to do that?"

"Might I suggest blocking out your human senses?" Castiel offered. "Your Grace is already pulling at you, once you have embraced its tug it should be easy for you to follow it toward the source."

Gabriel sucked in a deep breath, his shoulders rising to his ears then dropping. "Okay." He rotated his neck and shook his hands to rid himself of tension. He closed his eyes. "Here goes nothing." Seconds turned into minutes, and Gabriel started bouncing on the balls of his feet in agitation.

"Concentrate," Dean ordered. He stood beside Castiel with his arms crossed in frustration.

Gabriel scowled. "It's not like I can just turn it off and on like that." Gabriel snapped his fingers.

Gabriel eyelids flew open, revealing glazed over golden eyes, and Gabriel's head twisted toward the hotel. Without a word he marched toward the door that swung on one rusted hinge.

Dean, Sam, and Castiel scrambled after the archangel.

The door ripped from its hinge as Gabriel flung it open. The loud bang caused Sam to jump in his skin, but he pressed on. The hotel was dark, dirty, and riddled with dust and cobwebs. The tables and chairs that made up the lobby were tipped over and ripped apart.

Gabriel walked over the debris as if it weren't there. He turned down a hallway, Sam close on his heels, thanks to his long stride.

Rotted corpses littered the hallway. Sam flinched as he was hit with a vivid memory of the dead gods and goddesses slumped on the floor of the once decadent hall. Pieces of jewelry and faded fabrics identified each skeleton, and Sam found himself ticking off each deity's name in his head as he passed.

The double doors to the room where the Gods had held their meeting towered over Gabriel, but flew open on their own accord at his approach.

Iridescent colors poured out of the room, casting Gabriel's human shadow across the floor. The wood creaked under Gabriel's feet as he stepped into the room.

Sam took a step forward and it felt as if he were trekking through a swamp. He forced himself to the door, but could not go any farther. He gasped at what lay within the room.

A massive tree that looked to be composed of molten glass grew in the middle of the room, it's limbs stretching towards the ceiling and ripping it apart. A brilliant light glowed from within the unnatural tree—Gabriel's grace.

Beside him, Dean sucked his own sharp breath.

Gabriel approached the tree, unaffected by the force it used to keep the Winchesters and Castiel away. He outstretched his hand, and the light within increased. His fingertips were just a few centimeters from the trunk.

Sam spun around, shielding his face. "Cover your eyes." He doubted Dean or Castiel needed a reminder, but he rather be overly safe then have Castiel or his brother blinded.

There was a blast of air, and even through his hands with his back turned, Sam could detect a flood of light from the room. A roar like thunder filled his ears. It wasn't until the sound died and light dimmed behind his hands that Sam dared take a peek at Gabriel.

The light had been stolen from the tree, and Gabriel stood before it with his head tilted back as if trying to see the top of what was now nothing more than a hunk of finely shaped glass.

Castiel inched into the room. "Brother?"

Gabriel turned his head slightly then slowly turned. His eyes widened as he took in the appearance of the trio. Recognition flashed across his face. In a blink the vulnerable expression was replaced with his smug smirk and eyes were full of mischief.

Something squeezed Sam's chest. He didn't trust that expression.

Castiel sagged with relief. "Thank goodness. You are restored. Now we can—"

Gabriel held up one hand, silencing Castiel. "Thanks for the road trip, but I got better people to do."

He snapped his fingers and vanished.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for your kudos, comments, and bookmarks so far.


	4. Chapter 4

Castiel faltered where he stood as a litany of curses flew out of Dean.

Resentment and frustration pooled in Sam's stomach, twisting his insides. He knew he didn't have the power to prevent Gabriel from leaving, but it didn't stop a part of him from blaming himself for not finding a way to do so the moment he sensed that familiar devious and flippant attitude from the archangel.

"Gabriel," Castiel hollered at the ceiling. "Gabriel, I know you can hear me. We need your help to return the angels to Heaven—to undo Metatron's spell." Castiel's gaze drifted over the ceiling, as if at any second Gabriel would float through the floorboards above and promise them aid. The hope dwindled from his face as seconds passed and Gabriel did not return.

"Son of a bitch betrayed us," Dean said through his teeth. He stomped over to a pile of rubbish, his body tensed as if about to kick it, but he reigned in his temper.

"Technically, he never promised to help us. He kind of just got dragged along," Sam pointed out, even though the disappointment that pricked his chest debated the fact.

Dean whirled. "Don't defend him. His siblings are going around killing innocent people because they don't give a shit about anyone but themselves and their duties, and he just wants to go off to the Playboy Mansion and eat bon bons? Fuck him."

"Dean," Sam hissed, and nodded at Castiel, who remained staring longingly at the ceiling like an abandoned puppy.

All traces of anger vanished from Dean as his face crumpled at the sight of his best friend in turmoil. Without a word, he marched up to Castiel, slinging an arm around the ex-angel's shoulders in what could be considered a half-hug. Dean gave Castiel a gentle squeeze before he let his arm retreat. "C'mon, we'll figure this out. We still got the angel tablet and Kevin. There has got to be something we can do."

"I am not so sure, Dean," Castiel's voice was soft, just barely above a whisper.

Dean emitted a growl like sound. "You can't give up yet. We haven't even begun to try everything, and now you got us. No more of this living on your own bullshit."

Castiel cocked his head, his forehead wrinkled with confusion and doubt. "Are you saying I may stay with you?"

Dean slapped Castiel on the arm. "Of course you can. We may want to avoid staying long periods in the Batcave, but not like that is going to make a hell of a lot of difference."

Castiel smiled, the gesture was small and hesitant but it was there. "Thank you, Dean."

The trio waged their way through the rubble of the Elysian Fields back to the Impala. Sam kept to the back of their small group, letting Dean and Castiel have their private, little bubble of friendship. His senses went on alert when Dean slowed his pace to match Sam's.

"Kind of a rough day for, Cas," Dean said as casually as one could while whispering.

Sam nodded, suspicion tensing his muscles.

"I was thinking about what you said a couple of days ago, about being nicer to Cas, and—"

"Cas can have the front," Sam interrupted, having caught on to what his brother had planned to say. "Just make sure it's only for a few hours and not the whole trip." Even if he stretched out in the backseat he'd still be cramping if he spent too long back there.

"Thanks," Dean grumbled and picked up his pace, announcing to Castiel where he'd be sitting for the next few hours. The ex-angel looked worriedly at Sam, but Sam promised him that the new arrangement was fine.

Sam slid into the back seat, only to pause as his foot knocked into something.

The large plastic bag of _Supernatural_ books lay on the floor. The image of Gabriel reading the novels came unbidden to his head, and Sam kicked the bag over to the farthest corner of car. He spread his legs out across the seat and rested his hands on his lap. He shut his eyes, not planning for sleep, but a simple moment of meditation filled with the sounds of Dean's terrible singing and various Rock artists.

A few times he'd open his eyes to see where they were. On one occasion he could have sworn he saw Dean grab Castiel's hand and hold it. He decided not to comment on it.

* * *

_Mountains and mountains of papers boxed Sam in at the table in the Men of Letters' bunker. An ominous feeling gnawed at Sam as he pushed aside a mound on the table, and he covered his head. Papers rained down him. He gasped, batting them aside as he scrounged through files for some sort of clue that could help him break Metatron's spell._

_Voices filtered in through the stacks of documents, but he didn't recognize them. "Dean?" Sam tried to push his chair back, but it was bolted into place. "Cas?" He wiggled in his seat and tried to slip out through the side only to be yanked back. A metal cuff chained him to the table. "Kevin?"_

_The voices increased. Panic swept through Sam. He had to hurry. He had to get the angel tablet papers out of there and somewhere safe so the enemy couldn't get the information. No—he had to find the answer. The papers and tablet would be fine. He needed a solution to the Metatron problem now._

_A winged shadow fell over Sam, drawing the hunter's attention to a blond man of moderate height seated cross-legged on the table. The man whistled lowly, turning over one of the sheets. "And here I thought I might walk in on you cheating on me, but you're as obsessive as always."_

_Sam knew the man, but couldn't procure a name from his memory. His thoughts were rampantly screaming at him to keep sifting through the papers._

_The man rested his chin on his fist. "Aw, Sam, is your consciousness so puny that your going to let your subconscious push you around?"_

_A metal band on the man's ring finger gleamed in the dim lighting._

_Realization crashed into Sam like a tidal wave. "Gabriel."_

_The archangel applauded. "Good job."_

_Sam swiveled his head, taking in the sight of towering piles of paper that reached the ceiling that was far too high to actually be part of the bunker. He slumped in the chair, only to straighten when he didn't feel the firmness of the wood along his back or bottom. He turned his head, but the chair was still under him. Frowning, he ran his hand over the table but felt nothing._

_He stared at his hand, only to have Gabriel's curl around it and lower it. The archangel scooted closer to the edge of the table, smirking as he leaned toward Sam. Their faces were only centimeters part. There was something that told Sam Gabriel's breath was ghosting along his lips, but he lacked the sensation. He tried to ease his head back, but Gabriel's fingers had slipped behind Sam's head and would not let the hunter budge._

" _This isn't funny, Gabriel," Sam said._

_Gabriel inched closer, bringing his lips so close to Sam's that only a sliver of air separated them. "Who said this was a joke?"_

_Sam put his hands on Gabriel's chest, pressing against the archangel's chest in warning, but Gabriel remained only a hairsbreadth away. "Is this even you, or are you just a figment of my imagination?"_

_Gabriel wiggled his eyebrows. "How about you tell me?" Gabriel barreled through that tiny bit of space between their mouths and sealed their lips together._

_Heat and want seared Sam, and he pressed himself closer to the source, only to falter at the lack of chapped lips, or soft lips, or any sensation of lips at all. He couldn't even feel the tug on his head as Gabriel pulled him closer, or the arm Gabriel wrapped around his shoulders. Sam curled his fingers around the lapels of Gabriel's jacket, but it was like touching air._

_Lust and warmth—that was all._

_Sam pulled his head back, gasping for breath even though he didn't feel one bit breathless. "You can't just come into my dream and start making out with me."_

" _Not like it's real." Gabriel nipped and sucked at Sam's collarbone._

_A wave of desire crashed into Sam. He screwed his eyes shut to resist the emotion. This was still his dream, and he could control it. He just needed to concentrate. "I don't care. It matters to me."_

_Gabriel groaned in an aggravated manner and slumped against Sam. He retracted his mouth from Sam's collar, resting his forehead on Sam's shoulder. "Why can't you just have fun?"_

" _Why can't you help us undo Metatron's spell?" Sam found a thread of anger. It was small, but it was enough to cut through the haze of lust._

_Gabriel's head shot up and he glared at Sam. "You really think it's that simple? That I can just wave my magic wand like Harry Potter or sprinkle fairy dust like Tinkerbell and everything is okay? Sorry, kiddo, but it's not happening."_

" _Don't call me that."_

_Gabriel scoffed, pushing himself off the desk. "Whatever. Have fun solving mysteries with Scooby and the gang." In a flutter of wings, Gabriel disappeared._

Sam jolted awake, knocking a book off the table where he had been researching ancient spell books in hopes of finding anything that sounded similar to the spell Metatron had used to kick the angels out of Heaven. He groaned and rubbed his face. Near-sex dreams with an AWOL archangel were not his definition of a good way to start the day.

An even worse day would be Dean's reaction upon finding out.

Sam wrinkled his nose at the thought. He determined he would not be telling Dean about his dream any time soon. It wasn't as if it had changed anything.

"What do you mean there is no counter-spell?" Dean whispered harshly in the other room.

Sam's ears perked, and he leaned back in his chair to hear Dean better.

"Just what I said," Kevin hissed. "The footnotes say it's irreversible."

"Let me see that." There was a shuffling of papers as Dean snatched Kevin's notes from the prophet. "This is ridiculous. There has to be some kind counter. What kind of person makes a spell without some kind of a…" Dean scrambled for a word, "…reset button?"

"Someone who knows exactly what they want and doesn't want anyone screwing it up," Kevin suggested.

Footsteps echoed off the walls in what sounded like pacing. "What about the marriages?"

"I've looked into it, but it seems legit. You guys are married unless God decides to break you guys up."

"Never have I wanted someone's father to hate me so much," Dean grumbled. "Okay, so we got a big pile of nothing." He sighed, and Sam envisioned Dean running his hand down his face in a vain attempt to reduce his irritation with the situation. "Just keep searching for something that could help us with Metatron, and keep this a secret from Cas. He's already got enough problems as it is."

Sam didn't hear a response from Kevin, but he assumed there must have been a physical one, because the sound of footsteps came toward him. Dean's shadow fell over him then disappeared as his brother reached down to pick up the book Sam had spilled on the floor.

The chair screeched as Dean pulled one out across from Sam, and plopped himself in it. "So you hear all that?"

Sam nodded.

"You gonna say anything to Cas?"

Sam shook his head.

Dean grunted, satisfied. He leaned back in his seat and flipped open the book. "Good. Cas found us a hunt in a town couple hours from here. Finish what you're researching, get packed, and we'll leave."

* * *

_Sam's back hit the bed sheets, his hands wrapping under the thick thigh of a buxom brunette as she straddled him. She ran her hands over his bare chest and lowered her upper body over his, her movements languid like a cat's. She tossed her hair back as she lowered her head and pressed a kiss to his stomach._

_Sam moaned, closing his eyes as desire burned through his body. He peeled his eyes open just as the woman raised her head._

_Sam gasped._

_Gabriel smirked at Sam from his lap. A brunette wig lay sloppily atop his head, which Gabriel tossed aside. The only thing keeping them apart were their jeans. "Now this is more like what I was expecting last time." He arched forward, pressing a kiss to the skin just above Sam's belly button then ending the sweet gesture with a playful nip._

_Sam groaned, but not in ecstasy. He threw his head back and covered his eyes with his arm. It had been weeks since Gabriel's first, and what was supposed be his last, visit. "What are you doing here?" Sam peeked out from under his arm to keep track of what Gabriel was doing._

_Gabriel rolled his hips, but there was no friction. "Just wanted to have a little fun with you. Looks like you are ready to party this time."_

" _Can't you just conjure up a playboy bunny or something?" Sam took in a deep breath, pushing down any yearnings for physical contact, although the lust he felt remained prominent. "Are you doing this to me?" Sam was referring to the overwhelming lust coursing through him.  
_

_Gabriel leaned over to Sam's side, pressing love bites along the hunter's ribs. He let one hand slide up Sam's abs to his pectoral, letting his hand rest just a few inches from Sam's heart. "Only doing what you're seeing, and trust me, I would love to conjure one of those sexy ladies, but it wouldn't do much good."_

_Sam cupped Gabriel's head, lifting it from his side, so Gabriel would have to look him in the eye. "Explain."_

_Gabriel huffed. "You got access to the Men of Letters' library and the angel tablet, and you still haven't figured it out yet? Talk about slow."_

" _How do you—?"_

_Gabriel tapped Sam's skull. "Mind reader, Sam."_

_Sam frowned, but before Sam could say anything, Gabriel slipped out of his hands and straightened. "I hate to ruin the moment by bring up your brother, but think about Dean and ask yourself: has Dean gotten any since Cas?"_

_The answer was a resounding "No."_

_Gabriel nodded, sliding his hands up Sam's stomach to his chest then down again. "That is both the blessing and the curse of anyone married by Chamuel. You see, up until a couple of weeks ago, Dean and Cas could have done anything they wanted—slept with anyone they wanted—but now, they're married…by Chamuel."_

_Horror gripped Sam tight, destroying any warmth or desire he felt, freezing him instead. "They can only have sex with each other."_

" _Close. No sexy times with anyone else without the spouse's permission." Gabriel waggled his finger like he was chastising a child. He grinned down at Sam as he leaned in to deliver a kiss to Sam's neck. "Why do you think I'm sneaking into your dreams?"_

_Fear slammed into Sam's gut, and without thinking he rolled out of the bed in a maneuver that would normally have hurt, but in the dream world it left him unscathed. "Well then, I give you permission."_

_Gabriel frowned._

" _What?" Sam pulled his knee close to his chest, preparing to use it to create enough momentum to send him hurtling into the wall of the bedroom if Gabriel so much as took a step toward him._

" _Are you really that insecure with the idea of being anything but straight?"_

" _No," The response came out louder than Sam intended, and he flinched at his volume. "I just really don't like the idea of finding out that someone I barely know can't get it up for anyone but me, and I him. That's worse than waking up married to a stranger."_

_Gabriel dropped onto his stomach, bouncing on the bed as he smiled. "Ah, memories, but c'mon, Sam." Gabriel rolled onto his back and gestured at himself, particularly his well-toned stomach that really should have been a bunch a flab. "I may not be built like you, but I'm good-looking, and I'm an all powerful being. I could take you to all the romantic locations in the world if you wanted. Dean dies…" Gabriel snapped his finger. "Bam! He's back, as long as he doesn't sell his soul again. I mean really, you're going to so quickly allow me to have affairs galore when I haven't even allowed you the same curtsey yet?"_

_Sam nodded vigorously. Sure, the idea of a lifetime of celibacy was unappealing, if Gabriel chose to be a dick about the situation, but he rather that than have a ravenous archangel after him just because there was no other option for aforementioned angel._

_Gabriel pushed himself up to his knees, sneering. "You're some piece of work, Winchester."_

_In a blink he was gone._

Sam stirred and groaned as he felt the strain on his jeans. The bed creaked as he sat up, and he ran his hand through his hair. He wasn't even going to bother fretting that twice now Gabriel had managed to turn him on through his dreams. There wasn't much he could do if he really was attracted to Gabriel on a subconscious level. Plus, he'd had many weird sex dreams in the past that amounted to nothing.

There was a quick knock at the door before Dean came marching in without permission. Dean took one look at Sam and made a disgruntled face. "Dude, warn somebody before you let them walk into your room."

"Maybe someone should wait for the 'okay' before entering?" Sam hurled a pillow at Dean's head, which his brother blocked.

"Whatever." Dean rapped his knuckles against Sam's desk as he strolled around the room, eying what few possessions Sam decorated his with. Sam had made an effort to add more personality to his room since they'd argued about it, but Sam still couldn't bring himself to invest in the place. It would probably take years before the bunker would feel like a home to him.

"We're going on hunt," Dean said.

Sam nodded.

Dean turned to go.

"Dean," Sam called.

Dean paused mid step. Sam hesitated. The question he had in mind wasn't the easiest to ask. "Um, have you…been to any strip clubs recently?"

Dean scrunched up his face in disgust and pointed at Sam's lap. "You do not ask a guy that when you are sporting one of those. It's like we're in a bad porno, or something."

"More like a bad romance novel," Sam mumbled.

Dean took a step forward, tense and on alert. "You mean in more ways than just the soul mate and marriage thing?"

Sam explained what Gabriel had told him, even admitting to Gabriel's visits, although omitting the racier bits for his brother's sake. He winced as his brother's face morphed into a wide-eyed expression of absolute horror and fury.

"That son of a bitch!"

* * *

Despite Dean's reaction to the news that he wouldn't be having any fun nights with strangers at the bar or at strip clubs without Castiel's permission, the older Winchester's distress quickly quelled. Sam wasn't certain if it was because he'd received permission from Castiel, or if Dean no longer cared that he was bound intimately with Castiel.

For weeks, Sam had stumbled upon Castiel and Dean casually talking, sides pressed rather closely together. Sometimes their conversations were simply Dean explaining something to Castiel, but every now and then Sam caught them whispering to each other even though as far as they knew no one else was in the room. Then there were the brushes of contact that at first had Sam reprimanding himself for jumping to conclusions, but the more it happened the more Sam couldn't deny that the actions seemed intentional.

Dean still complained about being unable to annul the marriages, however, Sam noted that whenever the topic was brought up Dean tended to only mention Sam and Gabriel's marriage. When Sam pointed it out, Dean swiftly pointed out that he was still upset about how Chamuel had forced them into the situation, but never about his marriage with Castiel itself.

"This is a long time to be focusing on side characters," Castiel said as he turned his head toward Dean. The trio was sitting in the Impala at a drive-in that was featuring the first three _Star Wars_ movies. Because Castiel had never seen the films before, or at least that was the excuse Dean chose to use, Castiel had been put in the front seat next to Dean as Sam stretched out in the back. Sam didn't mind. Even if Dean was falling for Castiel, his brother never forced Sam into the back for long road trips, so he didn't begrudge Dean showing a little affection toward Castiel through seat placement. Also, at that particular moment, Sam could exit the vehicle any time his legs started to cramp, so it wasn't a bother.

"The humans are the main characters," Dean said.

Castiel frowned. "I do not understand. I thought the robots were the main characters."

Dean sputtered. "No."

"But then why were they featured so long at the beginning?"

"Because George Lucas said so."

Castiel scrunched his face, but didn't say anything as he reexamined the screen. After a moment he sighed and bowed his head. "George Lucas is a very confusing man."

"And you haven't even seen _Howard the Duck_ yet," Sam mumbled.

Dean guffawed. "Don't forget the holiday special."

Sam chuckled at the memory.

"I am not sure I want to see any more films by George Lucas if that is your reaction toward them," Castiel said.

"Don't worry. They're not all bad." Dean slung his arm around Castiel's neck, pulling the ex-angel in close. Castiel tensed in the hold, his head turning ever so slightly toward Sam. Sam flashed Castiel an encouraging smile. Castiel slouched and just started to in lean into the embrace when Dean yanked his arm away.

Dean snapped his head around to look at Sam, worry wrinkling his face. Sam tried to give Dean the same smile he'd shared with Castiel, but his brother whirled in his seat a millisecond before Sam's mouth moved. Dean had seen what he felt he needed to, and kept his arm glued to his side.

Depression settled like a heavy blanket drenched in freezing water over the car. Sam couldn't take the imploring glances Castiel threw at Dean while Dean did his best to hide that his watching Castiel out of the corner of his eye. It was so pathetic and stupid. Dean knew Sam wasn't a homophobe, and Dean knew that Sam liked Castiel, so any reluctance on Dean's part was utter idiocy.

Sam kneed the back of Dean's chair as he swung open the back door. "I'm getting a drink, you two want anything?"

"Beer." Dean thought over his response. "Some popcorn too."

"Cas?" Sam stepped out of the car and hunched under the doorframe so he could peer inside the vehicle.

"No thank you, Sam."

Sam nodded. He put his hand on the door to close it, but stopped. He felt like he was channeling Gabriel as he stuck he head back inside the car and said, "Oh, and can you two please make out while I am gone? I do not want you two interrupting the movie while I'm here just to shove your tongues down each others' throats."

"What the hell, Sam?" Dean shouted. Mouth agape from shock.

Castiel nodded, putting a hand on Dean's shoulder. "I will endeavor to fulfill your request."

A squawk like sound escaped Dean, and he twisted to yell at Castiel. The ex-angel lunged, knocking Dean down on the seat, locking their lips together in a heated kiss that would have the windows fogging over in seconds.

"Just no sex, okay?" Sam closed the door without waiting for a response. He was pleasantly surprised when Dean's arm reached up to the window and his brother gave him the thumbs-up sign.

Sam shook his head at his brother's antics as he headed toward the lit up dome that was the concession stand and bathrooms. He dodged cars exiting from other screenings as he hurried across the lot. He scrunched his nose as a bitter and foul smell that assaulted his nostrils halfway to his destination—someone hadn't been able to hold their alcohol.

He shoved his hair behind his ear as he pushed open the door of the dome building. Immediately the scents of salt and butter replaced those of the outside world. He marched up to the counter and ordered three drinks—Cas would be wanting one after the mouthful of popcorn Dean would convince him to try—and a large tub of popcorn.

The pimpled teenager manning the register typed in his order and read out the total charge. Sam reached into his back pocket for his wallet. He held out one of his fake credit cards toward the youth just when cries and a blinding white light erupted from outside.

Sam whirled, shoving his items back into his pocket as he stormed out the doors. His heart pounded in his chest, and he just barely managed to jump out of the way of a series of speeding cars fleeing from the scene.

"Dean!" Sam dove between a gap in the river of cars fighting to escape the drive-in. He bolted for screen where he'd left Dean and Castiel, only to be met by a throng of people trying to escape on foot.

A plaintive scream pierced the night as a car soared through the air and flipped, just missing a cluster of people.

Sam cursed, his hand reaching for his gun, but not daring to pull it out in case it caused the people to panic more. As he drew closer to the Impala he found people crumpled on the ground moaning in pain, many of them had had their eyes burned out of their sockets and were crying out in agony. Guilt weighed on Sam as he avoided them, he didn't have time to spare to give them any false comfort.

The doors of the Impala were thrown wide open, and Sam couldn't see Castiel or Dean inside. For a second Sam couldn't breathe as his brain was flooded with all the possible things that could have happened to the two.

That's when he spotted three people edging closer to something. All of them held angel blades.

Sam followed where the angels were looking to find Dean and Castiel in battle stances, each sporting an angel blade of their own.

Sam charged at the trio of strange angels, hoping the panicking mob combined with angels' focus being on Castiel and Dean that he'd be able to sneak up on them and kill at least one.

One of the angels vanished and reappeared behind Dean and Castiel.

Dean seemed to catch the movement, because he turned and flung his arm protectively over Castiel's back. He thrust his blade at the angel only to have it caught in the angel's grasp.

Sam opened his mouth to shout out a futile warning.

The angel shoved his sword at Castiel's back, aiming below Dean's outstretched arm.

Dean threw himself in front of Castiel.

The blade sank into Dean's gut.

Sam's scream caught in his throat. Distantly he heard Castiel's cry of panic as he turned just in time to see Dean slump to the ground.

The two other angels materialized behind Castiel, locking their hands on the ex-angel's shoulders.

It was the punch in the gut Sam needed. He shouted the name of the only person he knew who could save Dean and protect Castiel, "Gabriel!"


	5. Chapter 5

It was like a poorly edited movie, one moment Dean was slumped in Castiel's arms and the trio of furious angels were baring down on them, and the next Gabriel appeared behind the two encroaching angels as the one who had stabbed Castiel stumbled and fell on his ass. The two other angels, halted, and just as they turned their heads to see who stood behind them, Gabriel swung his arms around their necks and leaned on them as if they were his best friends. Gabriel snickered. "I've heard about in-laws fighting, but this is ridiculous."

The two angels flinched. The one on Gabriel's right, and occupying a female vessel turned her head. "Gabriel?" She spoke the name reverently as her eyes roved over Gabriel's frame, as if seeking confirmation that this was her long lost brother.

The other angel under Gabriel's arm recoiled at the name, and yanked himself out of Gabriel's hold. He held his blade at his side, ready to strike if need be, but not daring to raise his sword against the archangel.

The angel who had fallen groaned as he pushed himself onto his feet. He glowered at Gabriel. "It can't be."

Gabriel shrugged, withdrawing his arm from around his sister. "Hey, it's fine with me if you think I'm an imposter. Just leave Cassy and the Hardy Boys alone. I got a betting pool going, and I don't need you dip-shits messing it up. Although, I'd be happy to cut you in."

"Gambling?" The angel who had fallen on his butt hissed.

"You guys really haven't tried to enjoy your time human-side, have you?" Gabriel tucked his hands in his pockets, and craned his head toward Sam. "Hey Sasquatch, get your ass over here." Gabriel nodded Sam to his side as he ignored his siblings to kneel beside Castiel.

Sam snapped out of his stunned state which had left him watching Gabriel's interaction with his siblings like a child entranced by the vibrant colors of a TV screen. Sam crouched next to Dean. His gut clenched at the sight of Dean's pale skin and his twitchy fingers as he fought against death. Dean's eyes were screwed shut, but when Gabriel raised his hand over Dean the older Winchester managed to pry his eyelids apart to glare. "I swear if you—"

Gabriel snapped his fingers. "Stop being a drama queen, princess."

The gash along Dean's stomach disappeared, leaving only blood and a hole in his shirt. Dean put his weight on one of his arms to prop himself up, but Castiel maintained a strong grip on Dean, forcing the older hunter to lean on him for purchase. Dean ran his hand over his stomach, not trusting that Gabriel had truly healed him.

"Thanks," Sam whispered as he maneuvered himself to take Dean's weight from Castiel and help his brother to his feet.

There was a flash of emotion in Gabriel's eyes that was so brief Sam was unable to identify it before the archangel narrowed his gaze, taking on a serious countenance filled with bitterness. "I told you."

"Told me what?" was on the tip of his tongue, but the question never had the chance to leave Sam's mouth as the angel who had stabbed Dean—and appeared to be the leader of the offending group—stepped forward, putting only a foot of space between him and Gabriel.

"You dare help this traitor?" The leader flung his arm out at Castiel and sneered as if Castiel were an abomination. "If you were truly our brother Gabriel then you would know that this…" The lead angel wrinkled his nose and scowled, "… _human_ is the reason we have all been kicked out of our home, and that is only what he has recently done. He dared to call himself God and killed countless angels."

With each word the leader spoke Castiel clenched his fists tighter at his side and bowed his head in shame. Guilt rolled off the ex-angel in waves.

Dean inched closer to Castiel. His hold on his stolen angel blade strengthened as he raised it, ready to tear into the lead angel for his verbal attack on Castiel. "He was trying to help you guys. At least he was doing something, unlike the rest of you dicks who sit on your clouds all day, only to leave them so you can fuck with someone."

"Dean," Gabriel's tone was full of warning. "Shut up."

Although the lampposts that ringed the drive-in were far away to keep from interfering with movie screenings, the lights flickered then strengthened in brilliance as if affected by Gabriel's temper.

An eerie sensation swept through Sam, like the feeling of something ominously floating overhead. Sam looked up but saw nothing. His swiveled his head, the all-encompassing feeling growing stronger as the seconds passed. His eyes drifted to the ground. His heart jumped to his throat at the sight of the inky shadow below his feet that did not belong to him. He followed the silhouette. It was larger than a human—almost huge enough to belong to a building—and was spread across where Castiel, Dean, and Sam stood. It was humanoid in shape, but the angel wings protruding from the back gave away its identity as something more heavenly, and it stemmed from Gabriel.

The three angels retreated two steps. The leader winced and scowled as he did so. "How could you?"

"It is not your job to pass judgment. Now go back to whatever clique you're a part of. Oh and…" Gabriel smiled charmingly, like a snake, "…if you tell any of our siblings that I am back, I will make you wish you never had."

Two of the angels nodded vigorously and disappeared, but the leader of the group crossed his arms over his chest and glowered at Gabriel. "We believed you were dead. If this is who you really are, then you might as well be." He disappeared, his invisible feathers rustling in the process.

Gabriel snapped his fingers just as the other angel blinked out.

"What did you just do to him? Sam asked.

Gabriel grinned, facing Sam. "Oh nothing serious. Just put him in a dimension where everyone looks and acts like me."

"Thank you, Gabriel," Castiel said, his head still bowed in shame.

Dean made a grunt of disapproval, retreating from Castiel's side. "Please, after everything he has put us through, it's the least he can do."

"Keep it up, Dean. I can always throw you into the dimension with my brother," Gabriel threatened. "I owe you nothing. In fact, the only reason why I am not joining my siblings in the manhunt for Castiel here is because I keep reminding myself that punishing him serves no purpose if Castiel recognizes the wrongs of his actions and is doing his best to correct them." He took a deep, trembling breath to contain his fury.

"You're on their side?" Sam and Dean said in unison.

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "No chuckleheads. I'm just pissed." He sent all of them scathing looks. "In case you forgot, I helped you idiots because I didn't want my siblings fighting, and while you managed to stop Luci and Mike from fighting… well, none of you exactly stopped everything else."

"That's not fair," Sam piped up. He did his best to hide his shock at his defensive remark; he had not planned to respond in such a way. "If you read my mind, or anyone else's," Sam gestured at Dean and Castiel, "then you know it's not as easy as you make it sound."

"I am aware you and Dean couldn't possibly have prevented the events that occurred while I was gone, what with one of you being temporarily soulless, and Castiel keeping you two in the dark, but that does not excuse Castiel." Gabriel pointedly stared at Castiel like a parent chastising a child.

Castiel nodded, closing his eyes as if soaking in the reprimand. "You are right, Gabriel, which is why I accept any punishment you wish to confer upon me."

"No." Dean grabbed Castiel's arm and shook the former angel. "You listen to me, you made mistakes, but we all have, and you're doing the best you can, so don't accept anything this prick or any others want to do to you."

The corners of Castiel's eyes wrinkled as his mouth pinched, as if pained by Dean's words. "Dean, I…"

"Agh, you two are giving me cavities, and from me that's saying something." Gabriel strolled to Sam's side, passing the new couple without a glance. "Besides, I think I made it clear that I do not plan to do anything to Castiel. Was Dean always this overprotective or did my time as an amnesiac make his idiosyncrasies seem less obnoxious?" He asked Sam.

Sam had to pause for a moment to formulate a proper response. Gabriel's sudden decision to joke around with him had caught him off guard. "This is him being mild."

"Hey," Dean snapped. "May I remind you who has saved your ass multiple times?"

"And he calls you the girl," Gabriel scoffed, nudging Sam. "Dean-o is the oversensitive one."

"Says the guy that sticks people in TV Land because he doesn't have the balls to stand up to his brothers."

Sam cringed as Gabriel whirled on Dean, his features hardening. He wished Dean would learn to keep his big mouth shut sometimes.

Police sirens blared, and Sam almost sagged in relief that any argument between his brother and Gabriel was temporarily postponed.

Dean cursed, and Gabriel chuckled. The archangel tilted his head up at Sam. "Talk about Déjà vu, eh Sam?" He held out his hand. "You going to lead me away again?"

"Stop gaping at your husband, Sam, and get in the car," Dean bellow as he sprinted toward the Impala, Castiel hot on his heels.

"Right," Sam whispered, and moved to go, but a hand on his shoulder prevented him. Sam quirked an eyebrow at Gabriel, who grinned at him in a way that told Sam the trickster was once again up to no good.

Gabriel poised his fingers to snap. "Allow me."

Panic shot through Sam, but just as he tried to cry out for Gabriel not to do what he planned, Sam felt himself being whisked away. Before he could blink, he was standing front of Men of Letter's bunker with Gabriel. Sam scanned the area for any signs of Dean, Castiel, or the car, but found none. His blood boiled as it sunk in that Gabriel had left the others behind at the risk of being captured by the cops. "What is wrong with you?"

"Oh Sammy-kins," Gabriel waved away Sam's anger condescendingly. "It would take all night to get through that list."

"You left Castiel and Dean behind!"

Gabriel raised his shoulders barely a centimeter as he shrugged. "They're adults, and if they do get caught and put in jail for the night they can claim each other as their bitches before someone else does."

Sam could feel a headache forming in his temples. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself. "How did you even know to bring me here?"

"Read your mind."

Of course, Sam thought sarcastically. He took one more deep breath then opened his eyes and exhaled. "Okay, two rules: One, keep the mind reading to a minimum. Ideally, not at all unless there is an emergency. Two, no use of the name 'Sammy.'"

"It reminds you of when you were fat," Gabriel deadpanned.

Sam scowled.

"So can I call you 'Hubby' still?"

The threat of a headache was growing, and it was better to cut his losses now than suffer through hours of his head throbbing with pain. "Sure, whatever. Not like we aren't married."

"Aw, that's what every guy wants to hear from his husband." Gabriel threw his arms out at his sides. "Come here and hug me, Hubby."

Sam shuffled backwards two steps. "No."

Gabriel frowned, brow furrowing as he lowered his arms to his side. He scrutinized Sam. After a moment in which Sam contemplated escaping into the bunker, Gabriel exhaled and snapped a sucker into his mouth. "Honestly, I just don't get you."

"That makes two of us. Don't you have some super model or pin-up girl you'd rather hug?"

Gabriel huffed, holding the stick of his sucker like a cigarette and twirling it between his fingers.

That was not the reaction Sam had expected, and he found his thoughts stumbling over themselves to make sense of the situation. He was usually so much better at reading body language and picking up on implications, but what his intuition was telling him was illogical. Gabriel couldn't possibly be interested in him, especially now that the archangel had retrieved his memory.

Sam wasn't a fool, he knew he was attractive, and with Gabriel's hedonistic tendencies it wasn't a far stretch to believe the archangel occasionally enjoyed the pleasures of male company, but there were few positive experiences between them. In fact, their time in Vegas and on the road had been their best time together. Even if Gabriel could ignore their past encounters, the thought of them as a couple still had to be odd to the archangel.

Gabriel sighed, his facial features bunching together in irritation even as he tried to feign nonchalance. "Listen, it sounds like I am not going to get my thank you fuck any time soon, so unless you're going to change your mind about that or at least give me some kind of physical repayment, I'll be going."

Panic shot through his nerves like electricity, and Sam jumped to attention. "Wait, do you know anything about the spell Metatron cast?"

"I'm not getting involved in this mess," Gabriel said, readying to snap his fingers and disappear again.

Sam snatched the hand poised to snap, garnering an intrigued expression from Gabriel as the archangel craned his head back to meet Sam's determined gaze. "I just need to know if there is a counter spell."

Gabriel snorted in amusement, breaking eye contact. "Doesn't your tablet tell you that?"

"The tablet says it's irreversible."

Gabriel guffawed. "And you believed it?" Gabriel smirked, leaning into Sam so that their breaths intermingled.

Sam pushed down the urge to fidget and put distance between him and Gabriel.

Gabriel poked Sam's forehead. "Who wrote the tablet, Hubby? Think about it." In a sound of fluttering wings Gabriel vanished.

Sam blinked at the space once occupied by the archangel, mulling over Gabriel's words. Like a slap to the face, realization hit him. Metatron was the scribe. Sam had never considered it before, but who was to say that Metatron couldn't have lied when writing the tablet, especially if his deceit wasn't a part of the word of God but just Metatron's footnotes?

* * *

There was a groan as the bunker door opened, and Sam shut the book he'd been riffling through for information on Metatron's spell. He heard Dean muttering something incomprehensibly, and Sam walked briskly toward the entrance of the bunker. "I've got good news and old news." Sam skidded to a halt as he entered the main chamber to find Dean and Castiel descending the staircase. Sam mentally cursed himself for letting his excitement get the better of him—Castiel still had no idea that for the last few weeks Dean and Sam had believed Metatron's spell was irreversible.

"Please tell me you capped that smug angel's ass," Dean asked as he left the last step.

"Sorry, no luck. Hey Cas, do you mind…" Sam blanked on an excuse to send Castiel away.

Castiel cocked his head, his hand holding onto the rail as he paused just two steps from walking off the staircase. "What is it, Sam?"

"There's a book back there," Sam jabbed his thumb over his shoulder. "Could you please grab it for me? Big. Green. Fancy font in French. You can't miss it."

Castiel gave Sam one of his imploring stares that lasted a little longer than what Sam considered comfortable. Just as Sam was about to cough and think up a different excuse, Castiel nodded slowly as if still considering. He silently descended the last two steps and headed for the room Sam had come from.

"So what's up?" Dean leaned against one of the shelves.

"The footnote about Metatron's spell being irreversible is a lie."

Dean straightened, his eyes glimmering with interest, but his mouth was set in a hard line. "And where did you learn that?"

"Gabriel."

"And did he tell you how to reverse it?"

"No, but—"

Dean huffed, and shook his head. He pried himself away from the book and sent Sam a pitying look that was like a vice grip around the younger Winchester's chest. "Sam don't do this to yourself—to us. The guy was probably just messin' with ya."

The grip on Sam's chest was nothing like the stab of betrayal to his heart at his brother's words. "If Metatron planned to use the spell he wouldn't want anyone to know how to reverse, and it would be even more to his advantage if everyone thought it was unbreakable." Sam paused, trying to find the words that would add weight to his argument. "Doesn't it seem plausible?"

"Of course it seems plausible, Sam. That's why it is the perfect trick. He's just trying to get our hopes up."

"So what?" Sam focused on the spark of anger in him that was buried under the pain from his brother's lack of trust in his instincts. "It just gives us more motivation to keep researching like we have been doing all along. Why do you have to turn this into a negative thing?"

"Because I don't want to see you hurt when everything comes crashing down around us," Dean's voice picked up volume, letting his own frustration leak out.

The pain transformed into a cold numbness that Sam embraced. "It sounds like you don't think we can do this."

Dean turned his head away.

Sam scoffed, refusing to look at his brother anymore. "Figures."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Dean snapped.

"Nothing," Sam headed for the inner chambers of the bunker.

Dean seized Sam's wrist, tugging him back. "No, if you got a problem with me, you say it."

"I'm just tired that it's only okay to have hope when you say it is." Sam yanked his hand out from Dean's. "What have we been doing this entire time if there's no sense in hoping?"

"I'm just saying don't let whatever friendship you had with the guy when he was human blind you."

 _Like with Amy_ , Sam recalled his former kitsune friend. Sam stormed out of the room in the direction he'd sent Castiel off in. "I won't." His insides were ice, and he wanted nothing more than to bury himself in research so his bruised ego could heal. His bones jumped in his skin when he found Castiel with his back pressed against the wall next to the archway, having obviously been listening in on the conversation.

Blue orbs pierced Sam with accusation and hurt. "You lied to me."

Guilt gnawed at Sam, but what would have normally felt like a great maw tearing into him was reduced to a nip due to his festering feelings. "Sorry. Dean asked me not to tell."

Castiel sighed, tearing his gaze away from Sam. "I assumed as much." He swung himself off the wall and through the archway in one move. "Excuse me while I talk with Dean."

Sam nodded.

Castiel's feet padded across the floor, and Dean greeted Castiel in voice that was filled equally with exasperation and happiness as he switched between emotions.

Sam strolled farther into the bunker. Castiel's voice became just a rough, deep sound in the background, but he knew exactly what the ex-angel had said when he heard Dean's whiny voice respond.

If anyone asked, Sam would deny that at that moment he felt a brush of sadistic glee in the knowledge Dean was about to receive an earful.

* * *

_Sam glanced around the sparse, brightly lit dance room with a large mirror on one wall and windows lining the rest. There was something very familiar about the room, something that made him think of Jess, Dean, and two very different movie theaters, an odd combination to say the least. He took a step and frowned as something internal told him that his attire was wrong. He looked down at himself and saw that he was in a white shirt and jeans that hugged him tightly, although he could not feel their embrace._

" _Hey Hubby," Gabriel's voice came from behind._

 _Sam whirled and stifled a laugh at the sight of Gabriel in a black outfit that consisted of dark pants and a male leotard which showed off muscles on Gabriel's arm that Sam was certain hadn't been so prominent prior. He groaned as an image from a movie flashed through his head, killing any humor he derived from Gabriel's appearance. "_ Dirty Dancing _? Really?"_

_Gabriel sauntered forward, wrapping his arms around Sam's neck. "Why not? I think the movie represents us quite well, don't you think? You, a young, strong girl with plans to change the world. Me, a good looking guy with some serious dances moves, a bit of a bad attitude, but ultimately sweet and loving."_

_Sam pried Gabriel's arms off of him, and took a step back to put space between them. "I wouldn't describe us that way."_ Especially you _, Sam mentally tacked on._

_Gabriel wiggled his hips. "Don't be like that lover boy."_

_Sam cringed. "If you start singing_ Love is Strange _, I will wake up this instant."_

_Gabriel huffed, throwing one hand up, and in an instant the scenery was wiped away and replaced with a random motel room with only one bed. At the same time Sam and Gabriel were returned to their usual attire. "Are you even going to try to make this relationship work, Sasquatch?"_

_Sam eyed the edge of the bed, determining if he should trust Gabriel not to make a move on him if he sat there. After a moment, he plopped himself on the corner. "What relationship?" He honestly had no clue what kind of "relationship" he had with Gabriel. They were technically married, but the emotions that usually accompanied such status weren't present. He wasn't even sure if he could call Gabriel a friend._

" _This," Gabriel held up his ring finger and gestured between them. "The fact that we are soul mates. I mean…" Gabriel flailed as he wrestled to find his words. "It's not supposed to be like this. We're supposed to be in love and wanting to have crazy, hot, passionate sex all the time, yet you keep acting like an ice queen."_

" _Just because we're soul mates doesn't mean I'm in love with you, or the other way around. You're acting like a five-year-old if that is what you expect. What does it matter any way? I gave you permission to go off and be with whomever you want. Why are you still hounding me?"_

" _Because that's not how it is supposed to be," Gabriel snapped. The shadows on the walls jerked even though there had been no flicker of light in the room._

_Sam instinctively tensed in preparation to defend himself at the sight of the moving shadows. "Well, it is. I don't know what you want me to say." Sam shrugged. "I don't even understand why you care so much."_

_Gabriel fidgeted, dropping his gaze to the ground as he bit his inner check in contemplation. He stuffed his fist in his coat pocket. Finally, he leveled his gaze with Sam's. "All right, you want honesty, I'll give it to you, but I swear, if you share any this with anyone, I don't care if you're my soul mate, I will put you in a pocket dimension filled nothing but clowns."_

" _Yeah, I can see you're real invested in winning my heart," Sam drawled._

_Gabriel brushed his remark aside. "I'm like your stereo-typical stripper, Sam, but with less sexually transmitted diseases and no fear of gaining weight; I have daddy issues." A bitter chuckle escaped Gabriel, and he shook his head at himself. "Of course, no matter how pissed off I am at the guy, there is a part of me that still wants to please him, and since he's the one that decided you and I are meant to be, I can't help but want to make this work. Satisfied, Hubby?" the once friendly pet name was coated in venom._

_Sam nodded, feeling a sting in his chest as understanding filled him. "It doesn't mean I can just magically change my feelings for you."_

_Gabriel scoffed, huddling into a corner of the room, unaware of how such a position gave him a vulnerable appearance. He was like a teenager hiding from the world while adamantly glaring at it. "You have made that quite clear."_

_Silence blanketed them as they both avoided looking at each other._

_How many times was it now that Sam found himself sympathizing with Gabriel? It seemed with every conversation they shared he was uncovering commonalities between them. It was strange to think they had always been there, and he might only be noticing now because they were made soul mates and in a drunken stupor had gotten married._

_Sam rubbed his hands over his face as he exhaled to relieve tension. "How about a deal? I will be more open about flirting with you and…" Sam's face scrunched like he was sucking on a lemon, but he forced the words out, "…and physical things." Sam held up a finger in warning to silence Gabriel as the archangel opened his mouth to throw in his two cents. "Nothing beyond making out. I'm still getting used to the idea that I may be attracted to you."_

_Gabriel winked. "You know I am irresistible."_

_Sam refused to dignify that phrase with a response._

_Gabriel strolled over to Sam and flopped onto the bed. His legs dangled off the side while his arms pillowed his head as he stared up at Sam. "So what do I have to do?"_

" _Share any information you have about Metatron and his spell."_

_Gabriel snorted and sat up. "Well, that's pointless."_

" _Why? Don't you want—"_

_Gabriel placed his finger against Sam's lips and shushed the hunter. His mischievous grin was back in place and he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "I accept your deal, but only if I get to have my way with you for a bit before I give you the information. After all, once I tell you, I lose my leverage."_

_Sam didn't like the idea of giving Gabriel what he desired first; it just didn't seem like a wise thing to do with someone called "trickster". He did see the logic in Gabriel's argument, however. Unlike Gabriel who would have nothing to barter with once he lost his leverage, Sam could deny Gabriel any make out sessions after the first one until he got what he desired. "Okay."_

_Gabriel grinned. "See ya in the waking world, Hubby." He snapped his fingers._

Sam's head rushed as his eyes flew open and he became aware of the soft mattress of his room in the bunker and the darkness that surrounded him. He blinked his eyes, trying to hasten their adjustment to the lack of light as he sat up, only to be pushed down by two hands on his shoulders. A weight settled on his lap, as warmth brushed across his ear. The juxtaposition between heat at the side of his face and the chill of the night air sent a shudder down his back.

Gabriel chuckled, sending vibrations up Sam's neck.

"Holy—!" Sam whispered harshly as he already felt his body reacting to the mild ministrations. His nerves and muscles tickled with anticipation of more than just a gentle press of lips to his neck.

"That I am." Gabriel pressed his lips to Sam's in a chaste kiss that let Sam feel the contours of Gabriel's smile. He wouldn't be waxing poetry about how plush and pillow like Gabriel's lips were any time soon, but there was definitely an appealing softness to them.

Sam jerked his head back, and put a hand on Gabriel's shoulder to keep the archangel at bay as he collected his thoughts. He glanced down at himself, making it only more evident to himself that he was enjoying Gabriel's company—albeit, only enough that someone looking would notice. "Shit." He didn't know if it was the soul mate bond, or just the thrill of something new, but his ego withered at his body's responsiveness to the simple ministrations.

"C'mon, don't be embarrassed." Gabriel lowered himself so his chest hovered just above Sam's and pressed kisses along Sam's neck. "We haven't even done anything 'shameful' yet." His lips curved along the juncture of Sam's neck and collarbone. "You have to admit that's it's nice knowing the person you're married to can get a rise out of you in more ways than one." He gave a playful bite at the skin, and ran his fingers down Sam's sides. The touch was soft, yet electric in a way that made Sam's skin more sensitive and filled him with so much energy that he felt if he didn't reciprocate and expend it he'd be overcame by the energy.

And did he ever want to expend that energy.

All he had to do was let go of his reservations and he'd really enjoy himself, and that realization terrified him. His heart pounded in his chest, and Sam squeezed Gabriel's shoulder, causing the archangel to pause in his ministrations.

"Panicking," Sam said, surprised by his honest admission.

Gabriel nodded. He pressed one last kiss to Sam's lips then slid off Sam and settled on the edge of the bed.

Sam waited for some snide comment about how he was being a shy little girl or an infant, but was pleasantly surprised when Gabriel kept his mouth shut. He rubbed his arm, unsure where to go from a few kisses and touches to that moment of awkward silence.

Gabriel shifted and made an offhanded gesture. "Quite the discovery, eh Sam?" His tone was jovial, but there was a tint of wariness to it.

Sam didn't want to talk about his new found sexuality—or whatever it was he'd just experienced. "So what do you know about Metatron?"

Gabriel sighed then stretched and laid himself down next to Sam, keeping a few inches between them. "Quite the pillow talker, aren't you?"

"Can we cut out the wisecracks?"

"I'll try, but that's most of my repertoire."

Sam rolled his eyes in exasperation.

Gabriel propped his head up on his hand and looked down at Sam. "There is a spell to counteract what Metatron, did but the requirements are impossible to get."

Determination bulldozed away whatever remained of Sam's earlier nerves. "Let me be the judge of that."

Gabriel's eyes twinkled with mirth and he poked Sam on the nose like the Winchester was a five-year-old with a button-nose. "That's my feisty Sam."

Sam swatted the hand away.

"The first ingredient is easy, thanks to our emotionally stunted brothers." Gabriel held up a finger to demonstrate. "You need the blood of a human who loves an angel."

"And the second?"

Gabriel lowered his hand and frowned. He rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. Sam waited for the archangel to speak, and when he didn't Sam pinched Gabriel hard near the ribs. Gabriel didn't even flinch at what should have been a rather painful attack on his side, but merely angled his head enough to glimpse Sam from the corner of his eye. Seeing Sam seemed to affect him, because he looked away and sighed. "The second ingredient is the real challenge. You need the bone of my father's vessel."


	6. Chapter 6

"A bone from God's vessel?" Sam repeated, the infeasibility of such a task weighing on him as he spoke the words. He sat up, pushing his back against the headboard of his bed as he mulled over the situation. He couldn't surrender yet. God was on Earth, or at least that had been the case four years ago when Sam and Dean had met Joshua. Although, Sam hadn't considered that God would need a vessel then.

"Yup." Gabriel pushed himself up so he was shoulder to shoulder with Sam. "So you see, completely pointless to worry about it. Face it, my siblings are your new permanent neighbors."

"Does he _need_ a vessel, or can he manipulate his form?" Sam asked.

Gabriel frowned. "Honestly, I don't know. You gotta understand, my dad is one sneaky bastard. He has secrets on top of secrets. I wouldn't be surprised if when he created the Earth he knew I would end up married to a human. That is how crafty he is."

Sam nodded. It wasn't the best information he was ever given, but it was enough to keep hope alive. As long as he knew God may have possessed a vessel, whether it be from centuries past, or he resided in one at the moment then there was still a chance. He shoved himself off the bed and went to his dresser to pull out a shirt.

"Hey, where are you going?" Gabriel scooted to the side of the mattress, not one bit pleased by Sam's departure from the bed.

Sam yanked his white undershirt over his head and down his chest. "Going to see Dean."

"Are you kidding me? What part of 'impossible task' don't you understand?"

"Impossible." Sam went to the door, only to pause with his hand on the knob when Gabriel spoke up.

"You may want to reconsider talking to Dean at the moment. He's busy."

"I think returning the angels to Heaven is more important." Sam left, ignoring whatever Gabriel had to say.

He marched to Dean's room, pounded on the door, then entered without waiting for permission. "Hey, Dean, I found—"

A naked Castiel straddled Dean on the bed, stopping mid-hip roll at Sam's entrance. Dean groaned in annoyance, his grip on Castiel's hips tightening.

Sam scampered out of the room and slammed the door behind him. He plastered himself against the wall as he desperately tried to shove the image of Castiel and Dean together intimately from his mind. He cursed as all his attempts seemed to only strengthened the picture's grasp on his brain, and his curiosity piqued. Dean had been on the bottom, but was he _really_ bottom or was Castiel…

Sam shook his head, his hair whipping him in the face. _No. No. No. I do not want to know._

The door to Dean's room clicked open, and his brother came out in nothing but boxers, looking very disgruntled.

"So it looks like Cas isn't upset with you," Sam said, trying to break the tension with a joke.

"What do you want, Sam?" Dean asked.

"I may have a lead on how to break Metatron's spell."

Dean's eyes widened, and a second later his lips began an upward curl, only to fall. "Where did you get this 'lead'?"

Sam resisted the desire to sigh in frustration; it hadn't even been twenty-four hours since their last fight. "Gabriel."

"Sam," Dean said in that disappointed voice Sam hated.

"I get it, you don't trust him, but right now we got nothing to go on, so can we at least take what he has to say under consideration?"

Dean looked like he'd swallowed a mouthful of sludge at the proposition, but he gave an acquiescing nod.

A knot that had built in Sam's chest, unknowingly to the young Winchester, loosened. He really didn't want to get into another fight with his brother, and over Gabriel no less. "There is a way to break the spell, but it has a few requirements. We need the blood of a human who loves an angel…" Sam paused, watching his brother's face for a facial cue that would indicate Dean had picked up on the role he would be playing. When he saw Dean's eyes took on a calculating gleam, Sam continued. "The other ingredient is a bone from God's vessel."

"Shit, Sam," Dean hissed. He angled his head away from Sam as his body tensed and puffed up like a frog trying to bluff a predator away. "Even if he's not lying, where would we even start?"

"Joshua said God is on Earth, remember?"

"Okay, first off, even if we somehow find God—which, really? How the hell are we going to do that?—Do you think he's just going to give us a bone because we asked nice? The guy was freakin' willing to let humanity die so his kids could duke it out, and he has been letting his kids kill themselves since the apocalypse was averted."

"I don't know Dean, but we got to try. Also, maybe we don't have to find God. Maybe we can find an old vessel."

"That still leaves the question of where do we start?"

Sam bowed his head—not in shame, but in concentration. Dean was voicing the many questions that had been running through his mind ever since Gabriel had given him the information, now he just had to find answers. "Maybe we could ask Cas and Gabriel if they know of a few times when God went to Earth before? If they have a location and a time, perhaps we can find something." Another thought hit Sam and excitement bubbled in his stomach. "Or…we could find Joshua."

"Joshua?" Dean's brow pinched. He was quiet as he thought over Sam's suggestion.

"Assuming he wasn't killed, Joshua has to be on Earth now. He may not know where God is, but we know he's the one person God is still in contact with." _Or at least was four years ago_ , Sam mentally corrected. He dared not voice the tagged on thought to Dean, lest it give Dean reason to brush aside Joshua as an option.

"So we get him to call up God, ask for a bone, and like Domino's Pizza God delivers it in thirty minutes or less?"

"Hey, it's worth a shot."

Dean was not happy as he scratched the back of his skull. He looked back at his bedroom where Castiel was probably waiting for him then shook his head. "Fine, we'll try praying for the guy tomorrow—from somewhere other than the Batcave. The fewer angels who know about this place, the better."

Sam nodded, relieved and content that Dean had listened to him.

Dean turned to go back to his room, but stopped with one hand braced on the door frame. "Oh, and Sam?"

Sam hummed his acknowledgement as he headed toward his bedroom.

"Remind Gabriel the next time you two talk that I have holy oil and plenty of lighters, all of which I am willing and able to use at a moment's notice."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Yes, Dad." He hurried to his room, prepared to throw himself on the comforter of his bed the moment he stepped inside, only to halt when he found Gabriel still inside.

The archangel lay on top of the bed with his jacket missing, but still clothed in jeans and a shirt. He pillowed his head against the headboard and smirked at Sam. "Enjoy the show?"

"You knew Cas and Dean were having sex." Sam shut the door behind him, although the part of him that was still freaking out about his developing attraction toward Gabriel was hesitant to do so.

Gabriel shrugged. "I gave you fair warning."

"Maybe next time you could use the phrase 'our brothers are going at it like rabbits'?"

Gabriel waved the suggestion away carelessly. "Details."

Sam's lips quirked up a bit as he flopped onto the bed. The springs squeaked under his weight. Sam yanked off his shirt, bunched it up, and tossed it in the hamper.

"Don't tease me, Hubby," Gabriel said jokingly, although he leered at Sam.

Sam buried himself under the comforter and lay on his side. "So you going to leave any time soon or are you going to be like Pattison and watch me sleep?"

"Depends. How freaked out are you right now?"

Sam tensed. "Well, now I'm terrified."

Gabriel nodded, humming thoughtfully to himself. "That would be the appropriate response to someone asking you that question in this scenario. So before I asked that, how were you feeling?"

"Suspicious, and I would like to remind you that Dean and I do have holy oil."

Gabriel scoffed. "Like I'd let you two ring of fire me again." There was a moment of silence as Gabriel reached into his jean pocket to pull out a chocolate bar. "So other than being suspicious, you were okay though?" Gabriel asked as he peeled open the wrapper.

Sam hesitated, not certain where Gabriel was going with this conversation. Finally, he nodded.

Gabriel bit into his candy bar, slowly chewing the bite then swallowing as he continued to think. "Okay, then I'll hang out until you go to sleep."

"That's still creepy."

"It is, but I am impatient, and I want you to get over these physical boundaries ASAP, so we can have more fun." He smiled and playfully leaned into Sam just so they were short of touching.

"Well, now I feel safe," Sam drawled. He grabbed the edge of his comforter and threw it over his head. He curled into as small a ball as he could so he wouldn't have to touch Gabriel and squeezed his eyes shut. He tried to ignore Gabriel's presence, but the extra bundle of warmth at his side was a constant reminder of his guest. There were also the sounds of crumpling wrappers, and sometimes the occasional smack of Gabriel's mouth as he chewed.

It felt like hours passed, and he his irritation grew with each minute he was denied his rest. He took a deep breath, and told himself that yelling at Gabriel might get the archangel to leave and thus allow Sam to sleep, but the initial argument that would ensue would keep him awake for at least half an hour. He could feel sleep tugging at his brain. If he could just get himself to relax a bit more then—

A hand touched Sam's back.

Sam cringed and tensed. The hand withdrew, but Sam could feel it hovering just above his spine. After a moment of indecision the hand returned.

Fight or yield was the debate in Sam's head. He gnawed the inside of his cheek. His desire for sleep was great, but he had made a deal with Gabriel to be more open to couple-things like this, but it was just so…weird. There wasn't even an eloquent way describe how odd the situation was.

Gabriel continued to rub Sam's back.

Sam took a deep breath, and told his thoughts to shut up—a feat that was easier said than done. He focused on the gentle caress, forgetting who was the cause behind it. The gesture itself wasn't so bad. It was actually kind of soft and caring. It reminded Sam of a few times when he'd been upset as a kid and Dean had tried to calm him down.

Sam smiled at the memory, relaxing.

The touch stopped, and Sam caught himself missing it. He snuggled into his mattress and focused on the phantom sensation.

He could handle this.

* * *

Dean pulled off to the side of the highway, the tires kicking up dirt and creating a dust cloud. With a flick of the wrist, Dean turned off the purr of the engine and parked the vehicle. Near in sync with each other, Dean and Sam exited the car, Dean going straight for the trunk and pulling out a canister of holy oil.

Sam didn't say anything, but his face must have looked like a question mark was written on it, because Dean explained himself.

"I'm not inviting any asshole with feathers without some kind of protection."

Sam snorted in amusement and nodded at the highway. "You think a fire isn't going to capture anyone's attention?"

"There are bushes." Dean slammed the trunk shut, heading to the very foliage he had pointed out. Under the cover of the dried out leaves and branches he made a circle with the holy oil. When he was done he stepped back to examine his work for any patches of weakness. "All right, do you want to do the honors, or should I call God's gardener?"

"Considering we want him to help us? I think I'll do it." Sam shook his shoulders to loosen the muscles. Joshua did not strike him as the fighting type, but he wanted to be ready to move just in case. "Joshua, this is Sam Winchester. If you are out there I could really use your help." Sam paused, listening for feathers ruffling to signal the angel's arrival. "It involves returning you and your siblings to Heaven."

Sam waited.

The seconds passed and the angel did not appear.

Dean scoffed. "Nice job, all you needed to do was say 'please' and it would have been the prettiest prayer he's ever heard." Sam opened his mouth to retort, but Dean cut him off. "All right, Joshua, enough nice guy. You get your feathery ass down here, or when Sam and I find you—and we will—we'll deep fry your ass so bad you'll wish you were a chicken designated for the KFC kitchens."

"Dude," Sam said. "That is the worst threat ever."

"Shut up, Sam."

The seconds slipped away, and still no angel.

Sam gave Dean a smug look. "Well, that worked."

"Don't be a smartass." Dean held up a warning finger.

Sam chuckled.

Dean shoved Sam playfully. "I wouldn't be laughing if I were you, unless you got a plan B."

Any humor Sam felt was obliterated by Dean's words. He huffed and stuffed his hand in his jeans' pocket as he ran through all of their options in his head. "Well, he does like gardens, so maybe he's at some place well known for its foliage, or somewhere like Hampton Court Palace?"

"Yeah, that really narrows it down." Dean kicked up the dirt as he trudged back to the Impala, reopening the trunk and depositing the holy oil inside.

Sam sighed, shifting his weight in both agitation at his brother's lack of helpfulness and the knowledge that if he voiced the idea that prickled against the back of his skull it would lead to bickering. As much drama as the idea might lead to though, if everything went as planned it would be the most convenient way to go about things.

"What? You got you're thinking face on." Dean leaned against the Impala's rear bumper.

"You're not going to like it, but we do have a connection to an angel. One that could probably find Joshua even if he is hiding."

Even though Sam foresaw Dean's reaction, he internally winced at the scowl on his brother's face. "You're right, I don't like it."

"Joshua could be anywhere in the world, Dean." Sam gestured to the space around them for emphasis. "Even if we got lucky and managed to get a lead on him, he could disappear before we reach him. That's assuming he's even alive. If he's dead how long are we going to search for him before we give up?"

"I know, Sam," Dean hissed through gritted teeth. "I just have a hard time trusting the guy who tortured you multiple times and then ran off right when we needed him."

"But he helped us too."

"Twice," Dean countered. "Twice, Sammy, and I can't help wondering why is he helping us now when before he didn't even stop to listen to us." Dean sighed, his fist hitting the car but not hard enough to do any damage to Dean or the vehicle. "Just call him already. Might as well get this over with."

Sam wanted to say something that would comfort Dean, but he knew there was nothing he could do that would ease Dean's worry. Even if he could get Gabriel to sign a contract guaranteeing that all of his information was correct, Sam doubted Dean would trust Gabriel any more than he did then.

Sam took a deep breath and seated himself next to his brother. He bumped his arm against Dean's in an act of affection and gratefulness, before he closed his eyes and concentrated on Gabriel. "Gabriel, do you mind visiting for a bit? I've hit a dead end and could really use some angelic help."

Sam opened his eyes, expecting Gabriel to be there the moment his eyelids parted but all he saw was dirt, bushes, and the asphalt of the road.

Dean cursed, pushing himself off the car, causing the car to rise without the combined weight of him and Sam to dip it down. "This is what I was talking about. He's playing us."

Sam opened his mouth to speak but a sucker was shoved between his parted lips, and a hand covered his eyes. Cherry flavor flooded his mouth, and it took all of Sam's willpower not to rip the hand off his face and draw his gun. He pried the hand off his face and craned his head.

Gabriel lay atop the Impala's hood, cross-legged, and smirked at Sam as he pressed a finger to his lips, requesting silence.

"Frickin' drive him halfway up the country to get his goddamn grace, and the asshole…" Dean ranted away, his back turned to Sam and Gabriel.

Sam slid the sucker out of his mouth, twirling it between his fingers as he contemplated whether to warn Dean that Gabriel was up to no good, or to sit back and enjoy a prank at Dean's expense. A small part of him that didn't trust Gabriel urged him to give a warning, but his inner child pleaded with him for the second choice.

The sound of a horse neighing cut off Sam's internal debate.

Dean tensed and his head shot up. "Did you hear that?" Dean was about to turn his head toward Sam when a white horse muzzle poked out from a bush with what looked like a golden horn on top of its head.

Dean jerked, taking a step back. "What the—"

The unicorn stepped out from the bush, shaking its mane out. The sunlight glinted off the horn.

"Am I going crazy, or are you seeing this too, Sam?"

Before Sam could answer, the unicorn trotted toward the Impala, uncovering its hindquarters from the bush.

A rainbow shot out of the unicorn's ass.

Sam gaped, laughter bubbling within him but unable to escape due to his shock.

Dean was just as much of a codfish as Sam. His head followed the unicorn as it happily plodded up to the Impala. As soon as Dean spotted Gabriel seated on the roof of the car, the unicorn neighed and galloped off across the highway and faded away.

Gabriel clutched his stomach and burst with laughter. "You should see your faces!"

"What the hell was that?" Dean bellowed, looking ready to grab Gabriel by the collar and fling him into the circle of holy oil.

Gabriel wiped a tear from his eye. "I'm just teaching you a lesson about belief, Dean-o."

"What about belief?" Dean demanded.

Gabriel plopped his hands on Sam's head, resting his chin on his laced fingers. "Tell him about belief, Sam."

Sam had no idea what Gabriel wanted him to say, although he suspected it would lead to a spat between Dean and the archangel, so he didn't waste energy trying to puzzle through Gabriel's enigmatic ways. He dipped his head out from Gabriel and scooted out of easy reach of the archangel. "Do you know anything about Joshua, such as if he is alive or where he is?"

"Like I would know." Gabriel rolled his eyes like a flippant teenager. "I'm doing my best to avoid getting involved in the faction battle, so I haven't been checking in on my siblings. Unless we want to count Castiel and Dean." Gabriel winked at Dean. "Right, brother-in-law?"

Dean sneered.

Sam's brow furrowed. He recalled Gabriel telling his siblings at the drive-in not to reveal that he was alive, but he had been so focused on other things that he hadn't given the action much thought. "So you're just letting your siblings duke it out while you watch on the sidelines?"

Sam had thought his tone had been of disbelief, but there must had been a disapproving cadence to it that his ears hadn't detected, because Gabriel looked pissed. "Considering that if I get involved it will only create another faction, yes, Sam. I am sitting on the sidelines until they figure things out for themselves."

"So you are still a coward?" Accusation tainted Dean's voice.

Gabriel's shoulders bunched as his spine straightened. His gaze was ablaze with fury.

Without thinking, Sam snatched up Gabriel's hand in his and squeezed. "We're not trying to attack you. We just need help finding Joshua. If there is any way you can help us, we'd be grateful."

Dean scoffed, but did not correct Sam.

Gabriel remained stiff and poised like a statue ready to spring to life and attack at unknowing passersby. Slowly, his muscles loosened and his posture slipped into a slouch. Sam internally jerked at the sudden sensation of Gabriel rubbing his thumb against the back of Sam's hand, but after the initial shock wore off, Sam relaxed.

It was a pleasant sensation—odd, but pleasant.

"I'll keep an ear out for information about Joshua, but that's all I can promise." Gabriel paused in his ministrations, then pressed his thumb hard against Sam's hand.

With a jolt Sam, realized he had been staring at their joined hands. He lifted his gaze to see Gabriel watching him in curiosity.

"Okay, will you two stop? This is just getting awkward," Dean said.

For just a second, Gabriel scowled and his attention flicked to Dean, but his gaze returned to Sam quickly, locking onto to their hands that Sam had yet to untangle. Sam was tempted to remove his hand, but he hesitated at the memory of Gabriel bitter and frustrated at himself for his need for his absent father's approval. Dean would give Sam hell for it later, but not only had Sam made a deal with Gabriel, there was a part of him that genuinely wanted to help the archangel in his goal.

"Now you know how I felt whenever you and Cas got into one of your staring contests," Sam deadpanned.

Dean squawked. "We did not…" Dean trailed off and frowned as he reflected on his past interactions with Castiel. "That was different. We weren't forcibly married or…" Dean struggled for an argument. "It's just weird, okay?"

Gabriel chuckled, his hold on Sam's hand tightening. He pulled Sam's close to his chest, forcing Sam to take a step toward the archangel or be uncomfortably stretched out. Gabriel appeared about to speak, when he grimaced. His grip became bruising, and Sam hissed in pain.

Gabriel released Sam's hand, and pushed himself onto his knees and looked up toward the sky.

"Gabriel?" Sam clutched his injured hand.

"What's going on?" Dean swiveled his head, looking for danger.

"Gotta go," Gabriel said, his features stony as he forced down his emotions behind a façade. He disappeared, not even signaling his departure with snap of his fingers.

"What do you think happened?" Dean asked.

Sam couldn't begin to fathom a reason for Gabriel's departure.

Music blared from Dean's jacket pocket. The older hunter pulled out his cell phone and answered it. "Cas?" Wrinkles appeared on Dean's forehead. "Wait, Cas, explain. I don't—" Dean's eyes widen ever so slightly. "All right. Wait at the bunker for Sam and me until we get back. We'll figure out what to do once we're together." He snapped his phone shut.

"What was that?" Sam asked.

Dean shook his head as he beelined it for the Impala and swung open the driver's door. "An angel just died, and whatever killed it caused it enough pain to scream on angel radio its final death cry."

* * *

Images of scorched wings on floors ranging from carpeted to cracked cement covered Sam's computer screen as he scrolled through articles. So far he had found several cases of dead angels in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts. He studied the pictures of the victims' bodies and the coroners' reports, trying to find some clue that could lead him to the creature responsible for the angels' deaths.

They were all beaten and tortured, but anyone could do that if they knew the proper way to contain and weaken an angel. He'd like to think that eliminated any demon low on Hell's totem pole, but there was always the chance that one had overheard something from a higher up, or stumbled upon the information by accident.

Pain thrummed through his forehead. Sam grumbled and messaged his temples, hoping to relieve some of his stress.

There was a clunk as a bottle of beer was set in front of him. Sam looked up in time to see Dean take a seat next to him, holding his own beer. "Find anything?"

Sam picked up the bottle laid down for him and sipped from it before he answered. The burn of the alcohol soothed him, though it did little for his headache. "There have been a lot of killings on the tip of the east coast, but nothing that I can use to narrow down who's responsible. I can't even be sure if all of the deaths are connected. Cas only heard one scream, right?"

Dean frowned, his finger rubbing over the torn and peeling corner of the beer's label. "He just heard another one a few minutes ago."

Sam straightened in his seat. "Did the angel manage to say anything about what was happening before it died?"

Dean shook his head. "Don't know. Told Cas to get a beer and come join us. He just nodded and kept standing there."

Sam nodded. "He's probably just in shock." Castiel may have been forced to fight and kill his siblings in the past, but this situation was different; this wasn't some tragic fight where stubbornness and pride forced Castiel and his siblings to fight to the death. This was some stranger torturing his siblings and killing them without mercy.

"You don't think I know that?" Dean snapped. He gritted his teeth then took a swig of beer. "Sorry, just… it's been one thing after the other lately, you know?"

"Yeah…" Sam trailed off.

There was a shuffling sound and Castiel appeared with a can of beer in hand. His shoulders were slouched and his head was titled slightly downward as if there were a great weight on his shoulders. He was just a shadow of the angel he used to be. "Kevin suggested I try this beer," Castiel said as he plopped down in the chair next to Dean. He took a sip and wrinkled his nose. "Kevin has poor taste."

A small smile graced Dean's face and he wrapped an arm around Castiel's shoulders, pulling the ex-angel in for a tiny side-hug then loosening his hold. "I'll help you out next time."

"You have poor taste too."

Dean sputtered. "What?"

Castiel raised the can of beer to his lips, choosing not to delve deeper into the subject.

Sam chuckled. Dean might not have ever said it, but Sam knew his brother prided himself on his knowledge and taste in alcohol. Castiel may not have realized it, but he just earned himself a week's worth of pestering as Dean would try to prove his taste to be perfect.

Castiel leaned over Dean to glimpse at Sam's computer screen. "Have you found anything?"

Sam frowned and repeated what he had told Dean. "They didn't say anything over angel radio that might give us a clue?"

Castiel shook his head, his expression grave as he relived his siblings' final cries.

"Okay," Sam said. He placed his fingers on the keyboard of his laptop, but found himself stuck as to what to do.

Dean patted his shoulder and slid closer to Sam, while simultaneously pulling the laptop towards him. "How about you take a break? I'll see if I can find a trail, figure out where this asshole is going to strike next and beat him to it."

"All right." He could use the break to refresh himself. He pushed himself out of his chair and headed toward his room, but not before making sure to stop next to Castiel and give his shoulder a comforting squeeze. "Take care."

"Thank you, Sam," Castiel said.

With that, Sam meandered toward his room, mulling over what to do. A nap might be good, but he hadn't read the _Game of Throne_ novels yet, and Dean was getting antsy about continuing to the watch the TV series. Sam reached his room and turned the knob. He tensed as a light poured out of his room. He was certain he hadn't left the lamp on, but no one knew about the bunker, so who…

_Crowley!_ The demon king was supposed to be locked deep in the bunker, but that didn't mean he couldn't have escaped. Sam reached for his gun, doubtful that it would do much damage, but refusing to go into his room unarmed. Sam plastered himself against the wall and used his toe to push the door in a few more inches.

"Not a demon, Sam," Gabriel's voice drifted through the crack.

Sam's thought process stuttered. After a moment of collecting himself, Sam pushed open the door and frowned at Gabriel, who lounged on the edge of Sam's bed with one leg crossed over the other. "Miss me?"

"You ran away." The words were out of Sam's mouth before he realized he was speaking.

"A trait of mine." Gabriel smiled. "You'll grow to love it."

"Why didn't you tell us what happened?" Sam asked. Gabriel must have heard his sibling's scream too; it explained his sudden departure.

Gabriel motioned with his hand in a lazy, flippant manner. "Really, Sam. I come here to tell my husband about the exciting day I had and have some fun, and all you want to talk about is boring, depressing stuff. You're going to get wrinkles, and really, I love your face too much to see it blemished."

Sam folded his arms over his chest, silently challenging Gabriel to weasel out of talking about his siblings' deaths. "What did you do today?"

Gabriel beamed. "So glad you asked. Well, I decided to pay the porn industry a visit, and I found this director who, let's just say, really likes making the edgier and more violent type of films and wants them to be as authentic as possible. Great for the audience, not so great for the actors. I made it so that he takes on the injuries of any protagonist he reads about or watches. I may have also left a script for a film involving a hot rod on his desk to look at."

"Do I want to know where the rod goes?" Sam asked.

Gabriel grinned deviously.

Sam sighed. "And nothing else happened?"

"Well, you already know about the part when I visited you."

Sam glowered, but Gabriel continued to smile like nothing was wrong. When Sam realized Gabriel was not going to talk about his siblings, he sighed, grabbed a paperback copy of _Game of Thrones_ , and plopped onto his bed. He ignored Gabriel's presence even as the archangel climbed up beside him.

Gabriel leaned over Sam's shoulder, skimming the page as Sam read.

Sam cleared his throat and scooted an inch away. "Do you mind?"

Gabriel smiled and cuddled closer, wrapping an arm around Sam's waist and resting his chin on Sam's shoulder. "Not at all."

Sam huffed, but didn't fight Gabriel, knowing it would only make the archangel act up more. He flipped the page and continued to read. As the minutes ticked by, Gabriel relaxed against Sam's side, his body becoming pliant and acting as a living heater for Sam. It reminded Sam of his times with Jess and Amelia. It was eerie how pleasant it felt to have Gabriel tucked against his side—he never pictured Gabriel to subject himself to something so innocent. Even so, Sam couldn't deny, barring his surprise, he was actually enjoying himself.

Sam reached the end of chapter three and was about to start chapter four when Gabriel shifted beside him. Sam tore his gaze away from the book.

Gabriel frowned. "It doesn't make any sense."

Sam cocked his head, not sure what Gabriel was talking about.

"Even if He has given up on angels, He wouldn't want to put humans at risk. Why isn't He trying to send us home? Why is He letting so many of us die?"

Sam didn't answer. He doubted Gabriel expected him to.

* * *

Dean drove down Interstate Seventy like a horde of demons was on their tail. The Winchesters had no idea where they would land, but the goal was to get onto Interstate Ninety-one. It looked like whoever was responsible for the dead angels was following the Interstate lines, albeit not perfectly. Unlike when Eve first appeared and started attacking people at gas stations, the killings were not at locations right off the highway, but still in a general vicinity.

The only sound in the car was Dean's music and Castiel flipping the pages of _Game of Thrones_ , which Sam had loaned him. Castiel's face was a constant frown of concentration as he read, but the occasional comment told Sam that the ex-angel was enjoying the reading material, even if some things confused him.

Sam's cell phone chimed in his lap. He looked at the screen, expecting to see Kevin's name—Kevin was in charge of monitoring any angel activity along the coast—but instead was surprised to see "Husband" across the illuminated screen. Sam glanced at Dean, who was watching him from the corner of his eye.

Ducking his head between his shoulders, Sam flipped open the phone to a picture of a teenage boy hanging from a basketball hoop by his underwear as a little girl below laughed and hugged a teddybear. Below the picture the text read: _I was just helping the guy play keep away with the girl's bear. Poor bastard dropped it as soon as I helped him though._

_Kids? Really?_ Sam typed.

The response was instant. _Gotta start at an early age or they become total dicks_.

Sam snorted in amusement.

"Is that Kevin?" Dean asked. "What did he say?"

"No. Gabriel got a hold of a cell phone and is texting me." Sam flipped shut his phone, placing it in his lap.

"Perhaps you would like to invite, Gabriel?" Castiel lowered the novel so it no longer hid his face from the rearview mirror. "Whatever is killing the angels is a formidable opponent, and his power would be highly useful."

_Except whoever is doing this may be capable of killing him._ Sam frowned, a part of him squirming at the danger Gabriel would be in if the archangel helped. "We already have him helping us look for Joshua. Besides, he could just end up being a target."

"Like we aren't targets?" Dean scoffed and sent a suspicious glare to Sam from across the car. "Come on, the guy has friggin' Superman powers. I think he can handle himself better than anyone here."

"I thought you didn't trust him," Sam said, his defenses rising.

"I don't, but the guy loves his family. He'll help if it keeps them alive, and it wouldn't hurt to have someone who can heal us."

Sam didn't have a good argument against that. He looked at the phone in his lap and picked it up. Every bone in his body was telling him getting Gabriel involved was a terrible idea. He put the phone down and closed his eyes.

"Aren't you gonna—?" Dean started.

"I'm praying to him," Sam cut off his brother. He pushed down his thoughts and did his best to ignore the gnawing sensation in his gut. _Gabriel, we're going after whoever, or whatever, is killing your siblings. We got an idea of where they might—_

"You guys really are complete idiots, aren't you?" Gabriel's voice came from the backseat.

Dean and Sam both jumped a little at Gabriel's appearance, whereas Castiel scooted over to give Gabriel more room. Gabriel leaned forward, hands on the back of the front seat as he scowled. "All you know is that what you are up against can kill angels, and you just go rushing into danger."

"News flash, feathers," Dean used the rearview mirror to glare at Gabriel. "We've killed angels."

Gabriel returned the glare. "You really don't want to remind me of that, Dean."

The warning was clear, but Sam worried that with Dean being as pigheaded as he was, Dean would end up pissing off Gabriel and getting them stuck in another TV Land scenario. Sam twisted in his seat, so his hand touched Gabriel's shoulder, hoping the touch would placate the archangel as it had done in the past. "It's because this thing is so dangerous we have to go after it."

Gabriel scowled. "Do you even hear yourself? It's dangerous so we have to go?"

"I would think you would want to smite the sucker for killing your siblings," Dean said.

"I do," Gabriel said darkly, his eyes taking on a malicious glow. "Why do you think I took off so suddenly the other day? It wasn't just to stand over my sibling's corpse, but the asshole was gone. You get it? Whoever killed my sibling was fast enough to getaway before I arrived. You think you can fight something with that kind of speed?"

"Well, we are sure as hell are going to try."

Gabriel looked ready to launch himself across the seat and strangle Dean.

"I would like to try too," Castiel said. He straightened his posture. A light in his blue eyes that had vanished after he had learned about his siblings' deaths reignited. "I may die, but to know something is out there killing them and I did nothing… that is a fate worse than death."

The scowl was still prominent of Gabriel's face, but for the briefest moment it faltered. He looked at all of the occupants in the car in turn, the last person his gaze landing on being Sam. He held Sam's stare a little longer than the other's then flopped against the backseat with his arms crossed. "Fine. Get yourselves killed. I'll stay and laugh at all of you when you die."

"I would prefer that you don't laugh, but your presence is appreciated," Castiel said.

Sam turned his head away to stifle a chuckle.

* * *

When Dean pulled up to a hotel, Sam was ready to jump and roll out of the car. The ride up the interstate had been filled with bickering, mostly thanks to Dean and Gabriel, and Sam was constantly the mediator. Castiel would try to jump in and help Sam, but most of the time Dean or Gabriel would cut Castiel off. Admittedly, such a thing would usually cause Castiel to sulk and/or stew in the corner of his seat, which made Dean shut up. So in a sense Castiel did help.

Granted, nothing was worse than when Dean and Gabriel teamed up to humiliate Sam. All it took was a giant billboard for Plucky Pennywhistle's Magical Menagerie to pop up, and suddenly Dean and Gabriel were best friends.

Oh yes, diving out of a moving vehicle was far better than being trapped in a car with those two any longer.

Sam slammed the Impala's door and stormed into the hotel, ignoring the cries of "Sam" behind him. The young girl manning the desk jumped and dropped her magazine at Sam's arrival. Sam slapped down his credit card and ID, requesting a room with two queens.

By the time, Dean and the others caught up to him, Sam had paid for the room, and shoved three keycards at Dean's chest. He rushed toward their room for the night.

"Jeez, Sam. Stop being such an oversensitive bitch," Dean whined as he passed a card to Castiel. "We were just joking."

Sam paused, his abdominals clenching as he fought to contain his anger. He whirled, stomped over to the trio, grabbed Castiel by the upper arm, and dragged the ex-angel toward him. Castiel grunted at the rough treatment, but did nothing to stop Sam. Sam pointed at Dean and Gabriel. "You two, can share a bed tonight."

Gabriel and Dean both looked horrified. They looked at each other then back at Sam.

Gabriel forced a smirk onto his features and gestured at himself. "Come on, Sam, you know you don't want to do that. Your brother would never be able to keep his hands off me."

"To strangle you," Dean said. "Sam, come off it already. Besides, Cas doesn't want to share a bed with you."

"I have no objections to sharing a bed with Sam," Castiel stated. "While I do not possess the greatest grasp of human humor, it seems that only you two derived pleasure from your jokes. Due to Sam being the victim of your humor, I believe he is in the right to decide proper retribution." Castiel shrugged. "Personally, I find his form of punishment rather mild. My experiences in bed with you two has not revealed any unsavory sleep habits. Quite the opposite with Dean."

Dean flushed. "Don't say that kind of stuff, Cas."

"It was just a compliment, Dean."

The cherry hue of Dean's cheeks turned crimson.

Gabriel snickered.

The scene quelled some of Sam's anger, but he was still sore, and he wasn't quite ready to let his brother or Gabriel think they were forgiven, so he turned on his heel and marched to the hotel room. He didn't hear anyone follow him, and was a little surprised when he reached the door of the room to see that no one was behind him. He frowned as he wondered what the trio was doing in front of the receptionist. Shrugging off his curiosity, Sam entered the hotel room.

The door slammed shut behind him, and Sam jumped. The lights sparked to life, revealing Gabriel seated on the bed farthest from the door.

"You're going to give me a heart attack one of these days if you keep doing that." Sam shrugged off his bag, depositing it at the foot of the bed where Gabriel had situated himself. He moved toward the bathroom, but Gabriel snatched up his hand. Sam sighed. "What do you want, Gabriel?"

"Just checking on my husband." Gabriel tugged Sam closer to him, pulling Sam to stand between his legs. Gabriel dropped Sam's hand, but only to splay his palms along the younger Winchester's hips. Sam waited for the hands to wander. He relaxed when Gabriel didn't try anything. "I want to say I'm sorry."

"You _want to_?" Sam repeated, dubiousness lacing his voice.

Gabriel grinned up at Sam. "Want to, but can't. Have you seen your face when you're angry? It puffs up like a chipmunk's. Oh, and when your angry and confused, it's the most hilarious and adorable thing ever! You get these big puppy dog eyes that look utterly lost while scowling. It's the perfect juxtaposition!"

"I don't know how I feel about you studying my face so intently."

Gabriel laughed.

Sam frowned and tried to step out of Gabriel's hold, but the archangel wouldn't let him leave. "Just because you like my face doesn't mean you can piss me off whenever you want to."

"I know."

That wasn't the response Sam had expected. "You're being strangely agreeable."

Gabriel grinned lecherously. "Dean gave me only five minutes with you before he kicks down the door. He said something about how I am not allowed ten feet near your ass." Gabriel's grip on Sam's hips tightened. "Little does he know…" Gabriel chuckled.

Sam rolled his eyes. "If this is about sleeping with Dean, you and Cas can share a bed. Letting you and Dean share a bed would probably just lead to more of what happened today anyway."

"I'll take that offer if that's all I can get, but I was kind of hoping for something else." Gabriel scooted closer to the edge of the bed, threatening to spill over. His hands slid up Sam's hips and wrapped around Sam's waist.

Sam put his hands on Gabriel's shoulders, planning to push Gabriel away, but stopped when he realized the effort would be in vain. "Listen, I know we have a deal, and if we were back at the bunker—fine—but Dean is here, and he'd have a conniption."

"So tell him it's for Cas and his epic love, or whatever. Heck, just remind him I don't sleep, so really my designated spot is just where I am going to be catching up on my TV shows. I just heard about this show about some crazy, temperamental talent agent."

Sam sighed. "How about this? I am going to take a shower. During that time if you can get Dean to be okay with it, then I'll share a bed with you."

"I'm assuming I can't join you in the shower after I've convinced him?" Gabriel asked.

The joke brought a tiny smile to Sam's face. "How about no?"

"Such a tease." Gabriel released Sam with a push toward the bathroom and a swat to Sam's ass.

Sam jumped and covered his bottom. "Dude! A warning at least!"

"Yeah, yeah." Gabriel waved him off. "Now get in there so I can get your brother to have his fit, build a bridge, and get over it."

Sam laughed, disappearing into the bathroom. He relaxed under the warm spray of the shower water, letting all of his worries and troubles slide off him. He felt refreshed and ready to take on another day as he toweled off. He half expected Dean and Gabriel to be going at each others' throats when he opened the bathroom door, so he was happily surprised when Dean and Castiel were huddled on the bed closest to the door, watching some drama on the TV, and Gabriel rested against the headboard of the other bed.

Gabriel tore his eyes away from the TV for a brief moment. He patted the spot on the bed next to him. Sam shook his head, still not quite believing what he was seeing, but happy nonetheless. He crawled under the covers and lay on his side. He closed his eyes and invited sleep to take him.

Minutes ticked by and Sam felt his mind about to drift off to sleep when Gabriel shifted beside him, lowering himself to Sam's level. Sam rolled over, assuming Gabriel wanted to talk.

Gabriel's eyes locked on Sam's lips.

Sam could read the desire in Gabriel's eyes. If asked prior how he would have reacted, Sam would have guessed that he would tense or retreat, but at that moment he felt okay with the situation.

Gabriel's eyes rose to meet Sam's.

Sam nodded, silently giving Gabriel permission.

Gabriel leaned in and pressed his lips against Sam's.

There was a spark of excitement in Sam's gut. Gabriel pulled away and the spark was still there.

Sam frowned in befuddlement. He really did like kissing Gabriel. It was just so unexpected, it didn't seem real and it made him nervous. Despite his worry though, his curiosity wanted to experiment.

Gabriel moved to push himself up to his previous position.

Sam's hand shot out and gripped Gabriel by the back his head, pulling him back down. Gabriel's gasp was muffled by the kiss, which Sam was thankful for. He didn't think Dean was ready to know that his baby brother had initiated anything intimate with Gabriel. The kiss was more a smashing of lips than anything sweet or passionate. Sam separated their mouths to bring them together again in a chaste but strong kiss, one that was the perfect blend of soft and rough.

They broke part again, and Gabriel stared at Sam wide-eyed.

It sent a thrill through Sam, and he leaned in for another kiss, but this time he let his lips just ghost over Gabriel's.

Something seemed to click in Gabriel's head, because that playful glow returned to his eyes, and he moved so he was half leaning over Sam. He pressed his lips to Sam's. Their lips were connected for only a second before Dean spoke and interrupted them.

"You got two seconds to get off my brother, Gabriel, before I go over there and fry your ass."

Sam laughed into the kiss as Gabriel groaned and sat up. Gabriel flipped Dean the middle finger. "Forgive me for checking on your brother."

"Just keep your hands to yourself," Dean warned. "You let me know if he bothers you, Sam."

"All right, Dean."

Gabriel glared at Sam. Sam smiled.

After a few seconds, in which Sam assumed Dean returned to watching TV, Gabriel glanced over his shoulder at Dean then leaned down to Sam. "So what was that about?" he whispered.

"Just an experiment."

Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "And what did you learn?"

Sam paused. He had just reconfirmed that he was attracted to Gabriel, and now that the high of kissing the archangel was fading his fears were retuning, albeit weaker. What did that mean though? He thought he had an answer, but the part of him that was still frightened by what it meant to be attracted to Gabriel still held him too tightly for him to admit it aloud. "I'll tell you someday."

Gabriel nodded, a coy smile on his face as he rolled onto his back and continued to watch the TV.

Sleep came to Sam much easier than the last time Gabriel had joined him. He didn't know if he was just that exhausted or if he was adapting faster than he had predicted, but he was grateful for the change. He just wished Gabriel would sit still. It felt like every half hour or so Gabriel would wiggle, and Sam would wake up for a few seconds in a panic before settling down. At some point he noticed that the only light in the room was the TV screen. He may have dreamed it, but there might have also been a time when he rolled over into a pile of wrappers.

A hand clamped on Sam's shoulder and he flung his arm at the assailant, planning to bean the attacker in the nose with his elbow. Gabriel caught the appendage with ease.

A look of horror was on his face.

Sam only had a second to take in the situation. Cas had sat up, clutching his ears as if thousands of voice were screaming at him. Dean had rolled over and was fully dressed. So was Cas, and Sam could feel the rough material of his jeans around his legs even though he had not fallen asleep with them on.

The next second the room was gone and Sam stumbled onto a cement floor that looked like it was on a fault line and had just barely survived an earthquake. Red brick walls were covered in ivy and Bougainvillea, while pots of varying shapes and sizes, and filled with Peace Lilies and Chinese Evergreens covered sections of the floor.

"Someone want to fill me in on why we are in someone's poor excuse for a jungle?" Dean asked from behind Sam. Sam turned in time to see Dean dip his head to avoid a hanging plant as he approached.

Castiel was only a few paces behind Dean, still clutching one ear as his angel blade appeared in his hand. "This is it, the place where—" Castiel hissed and winced. He pushed past Dean and marched toward a doorway missing its door.

One of Castiel's siblings was being tortured, and this was the location, Sam realized. His hand went for the knife at his waist. He silently thanked Gabriel for properly preparing him for a confrontation, only for him to mentally fumble. Where had Gabriel gone?

Sam swiveled his head, but there was no sign of the archangel.

"Sam," Dean hissed, covering Castiel's back as the ex-angel took off for the other room. He waved Sam to follow.

Sam cast one last glance around the room before joining Dean.

The doorway led out into a hall. The walls of the hallway were covered in moss and vines, and Sam almost swore they had stumbled into some sort of post-apocalyptic movie. Howls of pain echoed off the walls, coming from a behind a thick metal door at the end of the hall.

The pained expression on Castiel's face had turned into one of absolute fury, and Sam was certain if Castiel had the strength he would kick down the door and stab the first person he saw. Castiel put his hand on the door, ready to shove it open, but Dean seized him by the wrist and yanked his hand away.

Castiel glowered and opened his mouth to complain.

"Let's try to see what we're up against first, before we go in there, guns blazing," Dean whispered.

Castiel looked contrite, but nodded his assent.

Dean carefully pushed the metal door open a crack then pressed his head in close to peer inside the room.

There was a yell of pain, and feminine voice that was very familiar to Sam. He frowned as he tried to place it to a face. Another yelp and the woman laughed. Sam went rigid, at the same time so did Dean.

Abbadon.

Dean signaled Castiel and Sam to back up. The two obeyed, shuffling backwards so that there were a few feet between them and where they had once stood. Dean joined them, looking like someone had just forced him to drink fish oil. "We're in deep shit."

Sam nodded. "Abbadon."

Dean shook his head. "Not just her. She's just watching." Dean turned toward Castiel, his expression so sorrowful and pain-filled it was almost as if someone had told him he'd need to cut of Castiel's arm in order for Sam to live. "There's an angel in there."

"Of course there is, Dean—" Castiel started, but Dean shook his head, silencing Castiel.

Dean pushed his shoulders back as if bracing for a mighty blow. "Abbadon is just watching, Cas, it's one of your siblings who's doing the torturing."


	7. Chapter 7

Castiel bowed his head and frowned as if Dean had spoken in a different language and Castiel was rummaging through his entire repertoire of languages to translate what Dean had just said into Enochian or any other language that he had a better grasp of. "That doesn't make sense. Even if I were to believe the torture is the result of some dispute, why would my brother or sister allow Abaddon to bear witness?"

"The why isn't so much important right now," Dean said. "If we're going to save that poor bastard in there, we need a plan." Dean looked to Sam for help.

Sam shrugged. The best they had ever done against Abaddon was temporarily immobilize her. Even that had taken a great sacrifice, and they had the advantage of surprise then. "We could try carving another devil's trap on a bullet, but that's going to take some time. Unless…" Sam paused, uncertain if he should voice his idea; it would only work if Gabriel was nearby and/or listening.

"What is it Sam?" Castiel asked, leaning in a little too close for Sam's comfort.

Sam leaned away from Castiel. He figured it was better to see if Gabriel responded to a prayer first than let Dean or Castiel get their hopes up. _I pray to the archangel Gabriel, if it's within your power could you please carve devil's traps onto our bullets?_

Sam waited, not sure if Gabriel would magically appear or if the archangel would do something ridiculous such as rain confetti upon them to tell Sam that he'd fulfilled the request. When time passed with no such thing, Sam pulled his gun out. He took out a bullet from the gun and held it up for examination.

A devil's trap was carved across the bullet.

Dean cursed in surprise, his hand rushing to grab his own gun and check the bullets.

Sam reloaded his gun. "Looks like Gabriel is at least listening in."

"Be nice if the ass would show his face, but I'll take what I can get," Dean grumbled, as he slid his bullets into place. When he finished he gestured at Sam and Castiel with his gun. "All right, Sam give Castiel your gun. Cas, I saw a window in the other room, and it looked like it was near a fire escape. Go through that room," Dean pointed at a nearby door that neighbored the room where Abbadon and the angels were, "and see if you can find another window. If we're lucky, it shares the same fire escape."

Castiel nodded and hurried to check the neighboring room, leaving Sam and Dean alone.

"You want me to give Cas my gun?"

Dean nodded. "Abbadon won't be expecting him."

"And how am I going to defend myself?"

"Like you always do."

Sam bitchfaced.

Dean made a face of annoyance. He shifted his glare around the hall, as if expecting someone to attack them at any moment then focused on Sam. "Listen," his voice was hushed and serious, "I'm trusting you about…you know…" Dean glanced around the hall again, but this time Sam knew the gesture was just Dean indicating Gabriel. "So if things go to shit in there and the worst happens, I don't care if I have to go to Hell to do it, I will kick your ass." Dean dropped his volume even more and glared at the shadows on the wall. "After I fry a certain angel."

Dean's confession hit Sam like a snowball to the face. Dean was trusting his judgment about Gabriel—he was expecting Gabriel to interfere if things got too hairy or if Sam was in trouble. "Thanks, Dean."

Dean scoffed. "Just try to stay behind me after we banish the angels to their corners to cool down."

" _You may not want to do that, Hubby."_

Sam jumped an inch in surprise.

"What?" Dean asked.

Sam held up a hand to silence Dean, as he turned his head up to the ceiling. _"Why?"_

" _Well, you lucky bastard, guess who the victim is? Here's a clue: Starts with a J and ends with an A"._

"Joshua," Sam said.

Dean's face scrunched. "What about him?"

Sam explained what Gabriel had told him.

Dean cursed, admitting that he hadn't gotten a good look at the victim, but from what he glimpsed it was possible.

Castiel popped out from the room where he'd gone in search of a second window. "I found a window sharing the fire escape I believe you saw."

Dean and Sam didn't say anything about Joshua, both were stumped as to what to do about the angels.

"Dean?" Castiel moved to Dean's side, tilting his head up in inquiry.

Dean sighed and explained the situation to Castiel.

Castiel's eyes flashed with thought and narrowed as he mulled over his idea. "Perhaps, since Sam has given me his gun, I should give him my angel blade? If we move quickly I can take Abaddon from behind, which could serve as a distraction for my sibling and allow Sam time to attack."

Dean frowned, and Sam did not begrudge him for it. The plan was risky, and Sam would be in the line of fire with the angel if the distraction didn't work. Knowing that, Sam was not surprised when Dean nodded but then said, "Give me your blade," while shoving his gun at Sam.

Weapons were passed around until everyone had the one they were supposed to possess. With a quick exchange of glances and nods to signal everyone was ready and knew what to do, Castiel disappeared into the other room, while Sam and Dean pressed themselves against the sides of the door barring them from Abaddon and the angels.

Sam mentally counted to thirty seconds before turning his head toward Dean. His brother nodded. Sam returned the action, then in one move he whirled, kicked in the door, and shot at Abaddon.

Abaddon leaned to the side in her rusted metal chair to avoid the bullet. There was a clatter as the bullet rebounded off of a support beam and embedded itself in one of the walls.

A quick glance to the right let Sam see a teenage boy holding a burning torch with a bucket filled with oil—holy oil, Sam was certain—at his feet. Bound in metal cuffs with intricate symbols carved into them was Joshua, his skin littered with burns and lacerations that should have healed long ago. Joshua's head bobbed as he struggled to maintain consciousness.

The teenage boy tensed, an angel blade appearing in his hand from his bomber jacket's sleeve.

Abaddon raised a halting hand as she rose languidly like a cat from her seat. She smirked. "Well, this day just keeps getting better. It's the two people who can tell me where I can find Crowley. Please tell me you have brought him with you like the good delivery boys you two are."

"Sorry, but you got the wrong guys. Might I suggest trying Dominos or Pizza Hut?" Dean said, sticking close to Sam. He held Ruby's knife as a distraction. He had hidden Castiel blade in his back jean pocket. His jacket was long enough that it hid the handle of the angel blade from Abaddon and the teenage angel.

Abaddon smiled, holding up one of her hands in a flourish and creating a fireball in her palm. "That's all right. I can make do." She licked his red lips as she leered at the Winchesters. "Two brothers, one girl, what more could I ask for?"

Sam clenched his fists and gritted his teeth as Abaddon drew near. His gaze locked on the window behind the she-demon.

Castiel stepped into view and aimed his gun.

Sam shot again.

With a laugh, Abaddon dodged to the right, the bullet whizzing past her. "That's not going to—"

Another gunshot rang out. Abaddon jerked forward as Castiel's bullet embedded its self into her, her eyes widening in shock and rage.

Dean dropped Ruby's knife, grabbed the angel blade, and lunged at the teenage angel.

Dean and the blade passed through air.

Sam's vision of an enraged and howling Abaddon was obscured by a pimpled face youth with plump cheeks and eyes that glowed an inhumane blue. Sam felt fingers curl around his shoulder and yank him forward as Dean and Castiel cried out in warning. He didn't see or feel the angel blade sink into his abdomen, but a distant thought told him that was what had happened as his knees buckled and he found that the only thing keeping him steady was the angel's grip on him.

Sam curled his hand into a fist and swung, trying to punch the angel, but the teenager-possessor released Sam, and the young hunter stumbled backwards. He tripped, his back colliding with the ground. Pain exploded across his back and head. Finally, he felt the searing sting of his stab wound.

His hand flew to his stomach to cover the gash at the same time the angel was flung backwards into a wall. There was a loud crack as fissures spread like a spider web across the brick where the angel had landed. With a groan the angel slumped to the ground and fell on its face, unconscious.

Sam blinked as everything blurred. Darkness spread from the corner of his eyes. He tried to blink it away, but to no avail.

Gabriel's face appeared in his dwindling vision. He scowled and his mouth moved, but his voice was little better than white noise. A weight settled on Sam's stomach, and he flinched as threads of pain shot through his body at the contact. Soon warmth replaced the pain and there was a soft tug on his skin as it was pulled together. He blinked and the darkness that had threatened to steal his sight vanished.

"All of you are just incompetent, aren't you?" Gabriel shouted at Dean. "I give you what you ask for, and you guys still manage to get yourselves almost killed."

"Well, maybe you should have been fighting with us instead of just watching!" Dean knelt behind Joshua's chair, and pulled out his lock picks from his jacket pocket. He fiddled with the cuffs, locating the lock and inserting a pick.

Joshua grumbled something that was incomprehensible to Sam.

A feminine guffaw interrupted the argument that was sure to continue between Gabriel and Dean if it went unchecked. Sam grunted as Gabriel slid a hand under his shoulder and eased him into a seated position. Even after he was upright, Gabriel kept his hand on Sam's back in a gesture that seemed almost protective and/or comforting.

The action earned another laugh from Abaddon, who stood paralyzed in the middle of the room. "An archangel slumming with humans? Well, isn't that just precious? Although, I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised. You were always far more fascinated with your father's creations than your brothers were, eh, Gabriel?"

Gabriel rose to his feet, keeping his hand on Sam's back as long as he could before he was forced to let it slip away in order to obtain his full height. "Abaddon?" He spoke in a casual, almost friendly voice, like he was talking to an old acquaintance he hadn't seen in years. "And here I thought Michael had killed you. He must have pawned you off on Raphael. As organized as Ralphy likes to act, he has a bad habit of letting things slide if he doesn't think it's worthy of his time. Don't take it personally, though." Gabriel flashed a white-tooth grin. "It's the only reason why you are alive now."

Abaddon smirked. "Really? Because here I thought it was because you were too busy coddling that human." She pinned her stare on Sam, her eyes gleaming with glee and promised malice.

"That too." Gabriel twisted his wrist and his angel blade slid out from his jacket sleeve into his hand. He marched toward the she-demon, and for the first time since Sam had meet her, there was a flash of fear in the demon's eyes.

She laughed drily at Gabriel's approach. "Really? You're just going to stab me? Where's the sport in that? And here I thought you overgrown pigeons were about righteousness and honor."

"Doesn't mean we're stupid." Gabriel smirked, and with one thrust he ran his sword through Abaddon. The blade sunk into the she-demon's stomach, causing tiny rivets of blood to gush out. Sam did his best not to put much thought into how the wound was the same one he had received from the teenage angel just moments prior.

There was a literal blaze in Abaddon's eyes as she screamed. Bits of skin darkened and singed along her arms, elbows, and neck, as if she were being burned from the inside out. With her head thrown back, the flames extinguished and she fell forward. Gabriel unsheathed his blade from her body and she hit the ground with a resounding thud.

No one moved. Dean was still knelt behind Joshua with his lock pick in hand, and Castiel stood on the fire escape with his gun poised to shoot. Sam internally gaped at the carcass of Abaddon. She had been one of their strongest foes yet, and all Gabriel had to do was ram a sword in her gut and as easy as blinking or snapping his fingers, Abaddon was dead. It was so surreal and anticlimactic that Sam had trouble believing his eyes.

Gabriel looked around the room and scoffed, tucking his blade inside his jacket. "You guys are acting like I just canceled _Doctor Who_ or something."

Castiel recovered first, blinking away his shock, and pushing aside the cracked and broken window so he had more room to step inside. He eyed the corpse as he drew closer to the group, naturally gravitating toward Dean. Like a trigger, once Castiel was within arm's reach of Dean, the older hunter hurried to free Joshua from his bindings.

Sam jumped in his skin when a hand appeared in front of his eyes. He followed the appendage up the arm to Gabriel's face. Sam blinked at the offering for a few seconds, then wrapped his hand around Gabriel's. With little effort, Gabriel yanked Sam to his feet.

"Well, now that Abaddon's gone, looks like we're going to have to interrogate teenage angel over there to figure out what the hell was going on in here," Dean said as one cuff clicked open and fell off Joshua's wrist.

Joshua sighed. He said something so softly, Sam leaned forward to hear. "What did he say?"

Castiel crouched in front of his tortured brother, setting a comforting hand on Joshua's knee. "He said he knows the answer." Castiel scoured Joshua's face then turned to Gabriel. "Can you heal him?"

Gabriel stepped forward, frowning as he examined the remaining cuff Dean was working on. "Until that cuff comes off whatever I do won't have much effect."

A rustle came from the angel who had stabbed Sam, and the younger hunter jerked a step away. His eyes immediately darted to the bucket of holy oil. Dozens of ways to defend himself against the angel popped into mind. He never got to act on his plans, though. Gabriel strolled past Sam, the archangel's shoulder and hand brushing Sam's side, toward his fallen sibling.

Gabriel crouched in front of the fallen angel and frowned as he studied his sibling. His lips were pressed together as he mulled something over. With a nod, Gabriel snapped his fingers and his brother disappeared. "That should keep him occupied for a while."

Sam opened his mouth to ask what Gabriel had done to his brother, but Dean beat him to the punch with a huff. "So you want to explain why you decided to sit on the sidelines again?" The second cuff opened and clattered to the floor.

"Quite simple my addled-brain brother-in-law." Gabriel grinned at Dean's wince of annoyance. "I didn't know if we would kill Abaddon, and if I don't want my family knowing I am alive, a certainly don't want all of Hell knowing. Demons are like stereotypical Jewish mothers when it comes to gossip." Gabriel snapped his fingers.

Joshua sighed in relief as the burns and lacerations disappeared from his skin. He let his head loll backwards. He closed his eyes as if basking in the sun even though the only sunlight in the room poured in from the fractured window. "Thank you, Gabriel. It is good to see you after all of these centuries." He returned his head to its normal position, letting his brown soulful eyes turn on Gabriel.

Gabriel waved off the comment. "Wish I could say the same, but Dean has a no chick-flick moments rule, and also you were always really boring."

"Nevertheless, I appreciate your help."

It was almost imperceptible, but Sam noticed the ever so slight rise of Gabriel's shoulders and the dust of pink across the archangel's cheeks as he feigned nonchalance. It was the first time Sam had seen Gabriel embarrassed or humbled. In that moment Gabriel was once again human in Sam's eyes, and he found himself stepping in to take the attention off of Gabriel so the archangel could maintain his privacy. "You said you know why your brother and Abaddon were here?"

Joshua's gaze flicked to Sam; it was just as deep and piercing as it had been when directed at Gabriel. "It would seem Abaddon was gathering angels to her side. Some came to her of their own volition, and others she coerced. Either way, they joined her, and to prove their allegiance they must torture another angel until aforementioned angel joins or dies."

"That's just sick," Dean said.

Castiel frowned deeply and nodded in agreement with Dean.

"Okay, I can understand if they were forced to join, but why would any angel join Abaddon willing, especially if they know about the initiation rite?"

"Loss of faith," Joshua intoned sorrowfully.

"Not like it makes much of a difference who they join," Gabriel said under his breath. "All of the angels are fighting each other, so joining a demon who wants to kill angels isn't much different."

That just made getting all of the angels back in Heaven all the more important. "Joshua," Sam began, "you must have heard our prayer. If you could get us in contact with God, or persuade him to help us, then—"

Joshua raised a silencing hand. With a grunt, he stood from his chair. He adjusted his shirt, which was speckled with dirt, and there was even a twig sticking out of his breast pocket. "I have heard your prayers, and I know what it is you seek, however, God will not help you until the faction matter is taken care of."

"What?" Sam and Dean asked in unison.

Gabriel tensed and Castiel cocked his head in curiosity.

"It is not enough to return the angels to Heaven. Doing so now wouldn't end the internal conflict. A true leader must step forward and guide us." Sam didn't miss the subtle way Joshua's eyes slid toward Gabriel. "When that one steps forward and accepts responsibility, then God shall bestow upon you what you ask for, until then the angels shall remain on Earth."

* * *

"I say we trap him in another ring of fire until the asshole gets over his issues and fuckin' helps already," Dean said, as he switched lanes to get out from behind a slow driver. Sam hadn't been the only one to notice Joshua's subtle glance toward Gabriel, and Dean was taking the archangel's lack of action very poorly.

Sam internally sighed. Almost as soon as Joshua had revealed God's conditions, Gabriel spirited the Winchesters and Castiel (although, technically, Sam had to remind himself, Castiel was now legally a Winchester too), away to the hotel where they had spent the night. Gabriel hadn't appeared in the room with them, and Dean spent a good five minutes shouting curses intended for Gabriel at the ceiling. Now they were driving back to the bunker.

"I don't think that's going to help, Dean," Sam said.

"It worked last time. The guy needs a dose of reality."

"Last time also led to him sacrificing himself. Call me crazy, but I don't think he wants to repeat that."

Dean scoffed. "Not like we're asking him to kill any of his siblings this time. Heck, you'd think the guy would be jumping up and down at the opportunity to be the leader. He can save his family, and spend the next century tormenting them with pranks without anyone to stop him since he'd be in charge."

"Okay," Sam said, acknowledging Dean's point. "Let's say we do trap in him in a ring of holy fire. What if his reaction is the opposite, or he lies and runs away the moment we let him go? Unless you know some way to keep him honest, there's no way to predict what he will do until he does it. By then it may be too late to correct it if we make a mistake."

"Gabriel's Horn of Truth would keep him honest if we blew it in his presence," Castiel supplied from the backseat. "However, it was lost during the raids after the apocalypse."

"Balthazar didn't get his hands on it?" Dean asked.

Castiel shook his head.

Dean cursed.

"And if Gabriel knows where it is, I doubt he would give it to us," Sam added.

A terse chuckle escaped Dean as he took a turn at eighty miles per hour. "Yeah, unless you seduced it out of him." The car was silent as the words hung in the air, and suddenly Dean straightened. His head snapped toward Sam before returning his gaze to the road.

"No." Sam recognized that look in Dean's eyes and could gather from the conversation what Dean wanted him to do. "I am not seducing Gabriel into becoming King of Heaven, or whatever he would be called. I can't believe you would even consider it."

"We don't have many choices, Sam." Dean's grip on the steering wheel tightened and his jaw clenched. "Listen, as much as I hate to admit it, the guy definitely has some sort of interest in you if he's invading your dreams, healing us when needed, and revealing himself to angels and demons when all he wants to do is hide."

"It is abnormal and contradictory behavior," Castiel threw in his two cents.

Sam sneered. His fingers curled around the knees of his jeans as he did his best to keep his temper at bay. He wasn't sure why it bothered him so much that his brother wanted him to seduce Gabriel. It just didn't feel right, though, like some creature gnawing at his intestines and crawling under his skin.

Like getting hit by a baseball to the back of the head, realization dawned on Sam. He had just started to open himself up to a relationship with Gabriel—with no want for anything in return, except patience for his slow adaptation. To suddenly actively pursue Gabriel with the desire to obtain anything from him felt like a taint to the tentative relationship he had started. "I'll see what I can do, but I'm not going to ask him to do anything."

"Sam," Dean started, but Sam refused to be bullied into accepting Dean's plan.

"No. You and Cas got five years to figure things out, so leave me and Gabriel alone."

Dean made a face of anger and confusion. He spluttered. "That's totally different, and the lives a billions of people and thousands of angels weren't dependent on one of—"

"I suggest you don't complete that sentence Dean." Sam whirled. Dean wasn't thinking, it was the only explanation for how he could forget that the very reason why Castiel and him met and were soul mates now was because of Lucifer and Michael's destined battle.

Dean clamped his mouth shut, not looking one bit happy. His silence was only temporary. "I still told Cas when I thought he was doing something stupid."

Castiel bit his bottom lip and bowed his head as he pondered Dean's words.

"But I'm not you, and Gabriel is definitely not Cas."

"Sam is right, Dean."

Dean's head whirled, and Sam cursed as the car slid slightly over into the left lane. Dean was quick to correct his course.

Castiel raised his eyes to met Dean's in the rear view mirror. "You and I are not Gabriel or Sam, and their situation is different in many ways. While I would like to return my siblings to Heaven as soon as possible, I cannot deny that having a reluctant ruler would not be beneficial to Heaven. If forced into such a position, I believe it will only be a matter of time before Gabriel flees again. Heaven needs stability now more than ever. Its leader must be one who will not desert it in a moment of weakness."

Dean didn't say anything, although by the slight grit of his teeth, Sam could tell that Dean really wanted to.

"However," Castiel continued, "I do not think that means you should be silent on the topic, Sam. Sharing your support would aid us in achieving our goal."

Sam nodded. He was still bitter about the way Dean had asked him to go about things like a gold digger or a prostitute, but he could admit to the validity of Castiel's request.

He tucked his hand under his chin and stared out the window as hills and signs went by. The car was silent, and usually he would enjoy the serenity, but his thoughts roiled in his skull. There were so many ways that he could encourage Gabriel, but more than half of them felt forced or like he would be shoving Gabriel toward the decision. He also could picture Dean interfering with most of them, or vocalizing his thoughts every time Gabriel and him would meet. Sam wanted to avoid that at all costs.

A sign welcoming them into a new state flew past the window.

Sam had an idea.

* * *

Sam laced up his boots and stood up from his bed in the bunker. He pulled his cell phone out from his jeans' pocket and stared at the illuminated screen. It was just past two in the morning. Dean, Castiel, and Kevin were probably all resting by then. Sam picked up the backpack he'd packed soon after he'd arrived at the bunker that day. He strung his arms through the straps and went to his desk. He opened the top drawer and pulled out a sheet of paper he'd scrawled on prior. He read over his letter to Dean, checking for any mistakes and making sure that his wording was perfect. He laid the paper on the top of his desk and took a step back.

Sucking in a gulp of air, Sam closed his eyes for a second then opened them again once he felt ready to enact his plan. "Gabriel, hey, could you come to my room? I want to ask you something important." Sam paused, thinking over what he had just said. "It has nothing to do with what happened earlier. Just a favor…" Sam trailed off, his stomach sinking with each second Gabriel didn't show up.

"What do you want?" Gabriel's voice came from behind.

Sam whirled, his heartbeat skyrocketing in surprise. Sam waited for his heartbeat to return to normal before he nervously bit the inside of cheek and forced himself to speak. "I was wondering if we could hang out?"

Gabriel raised one eyebrow. He placed a hand on his hip and eyed Sam. "Exactly what do you mean?"

Sam sighed. The conversation would be so much easier if Gabriel wasn't on guard from what Joshua had said. "That's just it. I want to hang out, spend some time with you without Dean, Castiel, demons, and whatever else interfering."

"Really?" Gabriel titled his head to the side.

It appeared he'd need to be more honest and blunt if Gabriel was going to take him seriously. "Yes. Listen, Dean wants me to convince you to bring all the angels together and become their leader, but I don't want to. If you don't believe me then go through my memories."

Gabriel eyes widened, and his hand dropped from his hip, swaying at his side. "You're giving me permission to read your mind?"

Sam nodded.

Gabriel just stared at Sam, which was rather disconcerting, but Sam told himself not to be alarmed. He just wished his muscles would get the memo and stop tensing.

A small smile spread across Gabriel's face. "All right. I believe you."

Sam's brow pinched. "Believe me? As in, you're taking my word and not reading my mind?"

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Yes, Hubby. Man, you're slow. You're lucky you got your looks." He poised his fingers to snap. His mischievous and wicked grin replaced his contented smile. "So where shall we go first? You haven't been out of the country, right? We technically haven't had a honeymoon yet, so how about France or Sweden? Italy has got some great food, although you gotta see Japan. It has got some things that will blow your mind."

Sam winced, and held up his hands in a placating gesture. "Nothing too extravagant, please?"

Gabriel vanished from in front of Sam and reappeared next to him with his arm slung around Sam's shoulder, pulling Sam down to his level. "Oh Sam, you have no idea what you have gotten yourself into."

Gabriel snapped his fingers, and Sam was whisked away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr](http://akira-of-the-twilight.tumblr.com/)


	8. Chapter 8

Sam would never admit it to Dean if ever his brother found out about this moment, but Sam was having a nerd-gasm as he craned his head back and stared at the expansive window ceiling of the British Museum. His eyes slid over the glass toward the center of the room where a cylindrical structure with multiple windows and two staircases stood. He had no idea where the staircases led, but if given enough time he'd explore the area. He looked around the white walls filled with entryways into rooms containing different objects from various countries and eras. He had no idea where to begin.

Gabriel snickered beside him. "Only you would look like a five-year-old in a candy store at a museum."

"Do you realize how many historical artifacts are here?" A thought occurred to Sam. "There could be stuff here that could kill a god or a knight of Hell for all we know." Sam's internal crazy fanboy squealed with delight, although, he kept his expression nonchalant.

"Whatever, Hubby." Gabriel pulled a sucker out of his pocket and unwrapped it. The wrapper magically disappeared from his hands seconds later. "Just remember not to drool. I'm not paying to replace some dead guy's underwear due to water damage."

"I think we both know who is more likely to get us in trouble." Sam headed for the left wall, spotting what looked to be Egyptian sculpture in the room beyond. He dodged clusters of people, some of who were studying a map of the place, and others who were renting audio equipment.

"Sam," Gabriel shouted.

Sam stopped and spun on his heel in time to see a group of people acting as a living barricade between him and Gabriel. Sam sighed and stomped toward the group, which instantly gave him space at his approach—one of the perks of being built like an ox. He huffed at Gabriel as the archangel held up his hand and grinned, his eyes twinkling with mirth. "This seems familiar."

The remark got a small, albeit agitated, chuckle out of Sam. He took hold of Gabriel's hand and led him away. "It's a little pathetic that _the_ Gabriel can create his own pocket dimensions, but he can't get through a crowd."

"It's why I need you, Sam." Gabriel pressed his hand to his heart. "Without you I am lost in a sea of people; it's why you're my soul mate."

Sam sputtered, trying to hold back a laugh. "That would be a terrible reason."

"But you have to admit, there is a sort of humor to it."

Sam shook his head, refusing to speak on the matter anymore. When they entered the Egyptian section there were two things Sam noticed: one, there were even more rooms farther back that were filled with objects from the Middle East. Two, there were large groups of people taking pictures in the middle of the Egyptian section. Sam's curiosity immediately rose, although he did his best to hide it by pretending to ignore the object.

Gabriel laughed at his antics.

Sam glared at him.

Sam followed the wall of Egyptian artifact and circled back to the center of the room, hoping that the people he had seen ringed around the main attraction would disperse and leave him mildly alone with the object. The number of people doubled instead. Frowning, Sam wiggled his way between a few spectators, tightening his hold on Gabriel's hand as the archangel eyed a woman's purse.

Sam pushed down the feeling that he should be scolding Gabriel for whatever he was thinking, and stood on his tiptoes. At first all he saw was a giant slab of rock in a glass case. A second later he was gob-smacked as he realized what he was staring at was the Rosetta stone.

Sam made shifty eyes as he reached for his cell phone in his jeans' pocket. Whenever he traveled he never felt like a tourist, and so the notion of acting like one put him off, however, he couldn't help but think of Kevin. He didn't know if the kid would actually appreciate a picture of the stone, but maybe it would help him a bit with translating the angel tablet.

Sam pushed himself forward and snapped a picture on his phone, then ducked out of the crowd as he pocketed the device. He backed into Gabriel, who was quietly chuckling to himself as the woman whose purse he had been eyeing wandered off with a friend.

"Do I want to know what you did to that woman?" Sam asked.

Gabriel winked at Sam. "Just dispensing some justice."

Sam knew he shouldn't ask—knowing what Gabriel had done would just lead to trouble—but he must have been a masochist, because he couldn't stop himself. "What kind of justice?"

"Oh, just the kind where her alligator purse chomps off her hand the next time she reaches inside."

Sam ripped his hand away from Gabriel's and stumbled backwards into the Middle East section. He bumped into someone, and swiftly apologized then turned a sour look on Gabriel. Sam took a step forward and leaned down to whisper harshly, "Are you kidding me?"

"C'mon, Sam, get a sense of humor." Gabriel patted Sam on the shoulder. "The woman is the head of one of those companies that tests on animals, in addition to treating them like crap when they aren't being tested on. I'm just turning the tables on her."

Sam pulled back. "Gabriel, you know what I am. Pranks and jokes I can overlook, but I can't in good consciousness let you hurt someone to such an extent."

"Now you're starting to sound like Dean."

"Yeah, well, Dean is often right. He certainly had you figured out before you were done toying with us in TV Land." Sam curled a fist and looked away from Gabriel. He wasn't angry, but he wasn't happy either. He was just uncomfortable that they even had to have this conversation. He could understand Gabriel's point of view; he was just punishing the bad guy. It was also Gabriel's duty, if what Sam had read about him in angel lore was true. Even so, as Sam envisioned the woman reaching into her purse only to get her hand ripped off, a part of him rebelled.

Gabriel's face scrunched and he stared at Sam like he was reading a difficult novel. "We have a problem, don't we?"

"Yeah…" Sam didn't want to admit it since he had been enjoying himself until then, but he knew denying the situation wouldn't help.

Gabriel twirled his sucker between his fingers, looking down at it as if it would provide him with answers. "So what do we do?"

Sam shrugged. He'd never had this situation with any partner before—not even Ruby. He hadn't exactly been thrilled with all of Ruby's actions in the past, but Ruby wasn't running around claiming righteous justice, nor had Sam really seen Ruby as someone he would have to spend the rest of his life with. Gabriel was different, and unless God stepped in, they were stuck together for life. "How about we part for now, think about things, and then meet up in an hour?"

Gabriel nodded, although he did not look at all pleased. "All right, one hour. Meet me at the café on this side of the reading room."

"There's a café?"

"Yes," Gabriel replied with sass. "The reading room was also that big round structure in main room with the glass ceiling that you saw shortly after entering."

"Don't be a smart ass."

Gabriel grinned. "I'll try, but I'll probably fail." Gabriel vanished, and Sam cursed, scanning the crowd to make sure no one had witnessed Gabriel's sudden departure. When no one started freaking out or questioning if a hologram had been added the Egyptian exhibit, Sam relaxed and strolled through the remainder of the room. He debated the benefits of sorting out his thoughts right then and there or giving himself time forget his initial frustration.

He finished the Egyptian section and was halfway through the Middle East part when he sighed and surrendered to his internal war. He mentally cursed Gabriel for making it impossible to enjoy what may be a once in a lifetime experience for him.

He searched for a place to sit—might as well be comfortable, because he knew this mental argument was going to be at least a thirty minute ping pong match—but he found none. He even wandered deeper into west side of the museum, encountering Greek statues and artifacts along the way. He found himself once again accepting that fate would not make anything easy for him, and lounged around Lely's Venus—a statue of Venus crouched and naked with her head turned as if caught unaware by someone approaching her from behind.

Sam raked a hand through his hair and sighed. Why did he have to get saddled with the angel who thought it perfectly natural to dole out inhumane punishments? Granted, if anyone was meant to judge the sins of humans other than God, wouldn't it be an angel?

Sam had to admit, he couldn't really argue against that logic, but his insides still cringed at the thought of sitting by and letting Gabriel pick and choose who to punish. Then again, maybe that was the problem. It wasn't as if Gabriel was going around punishing every human. If he did then Sam would be in a second Hell, because there was no way the guy who let the Devil out of the box could be considered innocent, even if he had put Lucifer back inside. Admittedly, he had felt as if he were being purified of his sins when he'd gone through the trials, but he had failed in his task. Also, what about Dean? Dean was good, but he wasn't a saint. Heck, that applied to any hunter for that matter.

Sam was getting off topic. He frowned as he realized that and scuffled the bottom of his shoe across the floor. He stuffed his hands into his jeans and walked around the museum with his shoulders hunched. He could feel the minutes slipping through his fingers like sand as he tried to come to some conclusion about the morally correct solution, but the answer eluded him.

Sam checked the time and whispered a cuss under his breath. He was already ten minutes late meeting with Gabriel. He scanned his surroundings and spotted two marble heads on a wall with a plaque proclaiming one of them to be Alexander the Great. Now if only he could remember how he had gotten to the marble heads. He'd passed the Parthenon, hadn't he? But then he doubled back? Or was that another room?

Sam mentally said, "Screw it," and called Gabriel. _Gabriel, I'm lost._

"Is it just me, or is there something adorable about a giant getting lost?" Gabriel appeared in front Sam, with his arm's wrapped around the Winchester's neck. For a brief second, Gabriel was the same height as Sam, causing the young hunter to look at the ground to find the source. As soon as Sam's eyes gazed Gabriel's feet hovering off the ground, Gabriel stopped whatever magic he was doing, and Sam's head was yanked down as Gabriel stopped defy gravitational laws.

Gabriel pecked Sam on the lips and pulled away.

The urge to touch his lips was strong, but Sam staved off the instinct. "What was that for?" Weren't they in the middle of a fight?

"Hey, I had the opportunity, and I took it." Gabriel beamed.

Sam didn't know what to say to that, so he nodded and let the conversation die. He regretted his choice when a long silence flowed between them. Sam scratched the back of his head. He'd probably have to start the conversation on the topic that they both knew they had to discuss. He just wished he knew what to say. "Listen, I—"

"I made it a hallucination," Gabriel interrupted. Sam barely had time to blink his confusion away before Gabriel proceeded explaining. "I thought about it, and while having her purse bite off her hand is a good punishment, it might not teach her a lesson. After all, she could still be Cruella De Vil, but with a hook for a hand. So now whenever she reaches into her purse she'll see her hand getting bit off until she changes her ways." Gabriel shifted as if uncomfortable, and rested a hand on his hip, feigning disinterest. "Better?"

Sam wasn't a fan of hallucinations—he knew just how damaging they could be—but even as a tiny part of him shouted its disapproval in his head, there was a larger part of him that recognized what Gabriel was doing and realized he had to meet Gabriel in the middle. He nodded his head. "Thanks."

Gabriel scoffed. "Please, Sasquatch, I didn't do it for you. I did it because I realized there was a flaw with my plan."

Sam nodded again, and bit his bottom lip as he held back the smile that tugged on his lips. "Sure."

Gabriel scowled. "Don't be getting a big head with me. I'm still the trickster and an archangel. You may not like it, but there are going to be times when I punish others."

"Just try to keep the gruesome punishments to a minimum and to yourself, because if Dean ever finds out, no matter how I feel about you, I am not standing in his way."

Gabriel grumbled. "I would be more worried about you. I still firmly believe what I said to you during the Mystery Spot."

Sam had always known he was a bit of a freak, and it was reconfirmed once again when his pride preened a little bit at Gabriel's words. He pushed the feeling down, and instead focused on a way to convey his appreciation to Gabriel. "Come here." He waved Gabriel over.

Gabriel turned his head away and eyed Sam. "Are you planning to stake me again?"

"Just come here."

Gabriel obeyed.

Sam gripped Gabriel by the jacket lapels and yanked him off the floor to give him a kiss. It barely lasted a second before Sam pulled away and dropped Gabriel with a smirk.

Gabriel blinked. A grin slowly spread across his face. "That was fun. Pick me up and throw me around again! It can be just like that awkward sex scene in _Dark Shadows_."

Sam shook his head and sauntered out of the room. He chuckled as "Tease!" was shouted behind him.

* * *

It was bordering on three weeks with Gabriel when Sam found himself getting antsy. He hadn't talked to Dean since his departure, and it felt odd and worrisome not to have made any contact with his older sibling for so long. He theorized it was a Pavlovian response created from most of their long breaks from each other stemming from fights.

He didn't call Dean though, because he knew his brother was furious with him, and he wasn't ready to go down that path. He could just imagine Dean ordering him back to the states and the rage on his face when Sam refused. This was his time to work on things with Gabriel, Sam did not need the distraction of a argument with Dean.

It wasn't just the lack of contact with Dean that had Sam fidgeting and wanting to run off on his own, though, he hadn't been on a hunt since he'd run off with Gabriel. While he had never been the most fond of hunting, knowing that angels and demons alike were caught in a power struggle had him unable to ignore his hunter duty. He found himself buying and/or stealing newspapers left and right, searching for supernatural leads. Gabriel and him had never discussed hunting. It wasn't something Sam couldn't do during his free time, but he'd allowed himself to slip into vacation mode, and now he wasn't sure how to bring up the topic.

Sam circled a suspicious article with a red pen as he looked at the small window of his room in Edinburgh. The sky was gray and bleak, but a bit of the sun's rays leaked through the clouds. He was staying in a bed & breakfast on the eleventh floor of one of buildings along York Place. Sam assumed Gabriel had chosen the location because of the Comedy club nearby—apparently Gabriel felt the need to redeem himself from his attempts at professional humor when he was human.

"If you don't hurry up they're going to stop offering breakfast downstairs," Gabriel said as he waltzed into the tiny room, munching on a strip of bacon. He hummed in appreciation. "The only thing that would make this better would be to dip it in chocolate." Gabriel snapped his fingers, and the piece of pork was slathered in chocolate.

Sam cringed at the unhealthy combination. "You're making me miss Dean's eating habits."

Gabriel shoved the last of the bacon in his mouth and made a show of smacking his lips. "Delicious." He plopped himself on the bed. "So got any places in particular you want to go to today? There's the Writer's Museum on the Royal Mile, although, I got to warn you, some of the doorways there were not built for you."

"I was kind of hoping to explore on my own," Sam began, hoping to ease Gabriel into his request. "There have been an unusual number of deaths in the area lately, all from people who were down on their luck and suddenly struck it big. Sounds like a cross-roads demon calling in his deals early."

Gabriel frowned, but didn't comment right away. After a moment he nodded. "I should get back to work too. I am way behind on my justice quota. Just try not get attacked by a Hell Hound this time."

Sam snorted. "If I do, I'll just start the trials over again."

Gabriel scowled. "You do, Bub, and I will smite you so fast it will make your dead relatives dizzy."

Sam mentally staggered. He might have been reading too much into things, but that wasn't the kind of threat you said to someone you didn't care about.

"What?" Gabriel asked.

Sam realized he was staring and tore his gaze away. "Nothing."

Gabriel huffed, and shifted so he rested on his side. "So do you know anything about the legal system here, or even what your best disguise would be, because I'd hate to break it to you, but impersonating as the FBI is not going to help you here."

Sam hadn't put much thought into how he would go about investigating the murders. He had been more focused on mentally preparing himself for Gabriel to whine or complain about him ruining their time together with work.

Gabriel snapped his fingers and a SCDEA I.D. dropped into Sam's lap. "Some guys ask for a new car, my husband asks for fake I.D.s. I obviously have a winner on my hands."

"I didn't _ask_ you for one," Sam pointed out.

Gabriel waved him off. "Details. You would have eventually. Now, TV has taught me that we must kiss before we part." Gabriel sat up and held his arms out in an act mimicking a child begging for a hug. "Now, come here and plant one on me."

Sam stood up and bypassed Gabriel for the door.

"Hey!" Gabriel magically appeared in front of Sam blocking the door. "That's not nice, Sam."

Sam rolled his eyes, and leaned down to press his lips against Gabriel's. He felt a thrum of energy at the light contact. The affectionate gesture had become commonplace over the last few weeks, yet he still felt that thrill that he had once thought was excitement towards the new. Right before they had found Joshua, Sam had concluded that he enjoyed kissing Gabriel, but as Gabriel tried to deepen the kiss, Sam knew he was beginning to form an addiction, and unlike before, he wasn't afraid—still hesitant, but the fear had evaporated.

Gabriel used his tongue to push something into Sam's, mouth, and in surprise, Sam parted his lips only to get something inserted inside. He jerked his head back as chocolate coated his mouth. He licked his lips as he rolled the piece of chocolate around in his mouth, taking in its shape and size. "Did you just give me a Hershey's kiss?"

Gabriel smirked. "That would be really corny, Sam. Anyway, bye." Gabriel waved as he disappeared.

Sam shook his head as he swallowed the chocolate kiss. "Weirdo."

Sam went downstairs to grab a couple pieces of toast before diving into further research. He spent two hours looking into the friends and families of the victims, but found most of them either lived outside of walking or busing distance (he wasn't even going to try and figure out the train routes until he absolutely had to) from where he was staying—he should have asked Gabriel for a license and a car. He considered doing so, but found that most of the victims had worked somewhere in the city.

Sam shut down his computer and straightened out his notes as he dressed himself in his suit, thankful that he'd possessed the foresight to bring it. He managed to get the owner of the bed and breakfast to give him a folder to carry all of his papers in then set off through the city. The first place he went to was a bust with no one adding information about the victim except for one person, who swore they saw the death coming because the victim had a bad habit of getting drunk and wandering into busy streets. Another victim was one of the high ups at the National Museum. While the woman hadn't suddenly gained wealth like many of the other victims, she gained some fame by procuring many artifacts and exhibits for the museum. Investigating her colleagues had been more interesting, but there was still no evidence to tell him which demon was responsible, or even confirm his crossroads theory.

Four more interviews later, and Sam finally took a break at a coffee shop. His head was pounding from lack of nutritional substance and frustration as he downed a cup of coffee, and stared at the random sandwich he'd grabbed and paid for. How could such a simple case have so many dead ends? He couldn't even use the information that he did have to predict who might be targeted next. So far his best bet was summoning a crossroads demon and torturing the information out of it.

He'd have to find some place secluded. He wondered if Gabriel would be able to suggest a place.

Sam snorted in amusement at the thought of Gabriel joining him to summon a demon. His joy was short lived, however, as he remembered that Gabriel wasn't too keen on letting his presence be known to anyone, barring emergencies. Although, Sam suspected those emergencies only applied to himself and people he cared about.

Sam looked out the window to let his thoughts wander. A trio of people stood in the middle of the closed off road singing songs and performing minor magic tricks. They were dressed in intricate and colorful outfits that were circus-esk. One was covered head to toe in piercings and another could rival Tit when it came to the amount of tattoos versus skin ratio.

Most people walked past the street performers. Only a handful stopped and enjoyed the show.

Sam could hear Dean's smartass comment in his head, and he chortled softly into his coffee cup before taking a sip. As he set the cup down and returned to watching the scene a person caught Sam's eye.

It was just a girl in a purple coat—she probably came from the college nearby—but something about the way she walked seemed off. She was slightly hunched, and she kept looking over her shoulder while keeping one hand pressed to her side. Sam frowned, his instincts flaring and shouting at him to tail her, but he resisted.

A man bumped into the girl, rushing past her without an apology.

The girl bent forward and winced. With her arm knocked away from her side her coat flew open for a second, revealing a blouse stained across the side with blood.

Sam jumped out of his seat.

The girl hugged her coat to herself and stumbled into an alley.

Sam shoved his file under his armpit, scooped up his sandwich and threw it into the bin as he exited the café. He marched toward the alley, doing his best to act casual as he dipped into the alley. Sam jerked to a halt in front of the alley, expecting to find some rundown place with a dumpster, only to see a clean path leading into an area with planted trees.

Sam sidled along the side of one of the buildings, his hand reaching for his hidden knife. He stopped at the edge of the alley and craned his head to see what lay beyond.

The girl was crumpled on the ground in the middle of the empty square tucked away between the huge buildings of the city. She whimpered as she clutched her stomach and pressed her knees into herself.

Sam's grip loosened on his knife, only to tighten as he reminded himself that this could all be a trap. He stepped out from the alley and cleared his throat.

The girl tensed and her head popped up. She looked over her shoulder and scowled. "You."

"Me?" Sam studied the girl's face, but he couldn't match it to any in his recollection.

"Winchester," the girl hissed. She tried to stand but stumbled.

In an utterly stupid move, Sam let go of his knife and swooped down to catch the girl before the collided with the hard, stone, ground. She pressed her hands against Sam's chest and shoved him away.

To an onlooker the push wouldn't have looked like it had much force, but Sam gasped for air as the oxygen was knocked out of his lungs and he stumbled backwards. He corrected his balance and brandished his knife. "What are you?"

"One of the people you and your brother screwed over with your constant defiance of the grand plan," the girl growled.

"Angel?" Sam asked.

The girl pierced Sam with a look that promised a long, painful, smiting, but the effect was ruined as her leg gave out under her.

"Shouldn't you be healing?" He really didn't want to think about what could possibly do so much damage to an angel it rendered them incapable of healing.

The girl pressed her hand against her wound, a hiss of pain slipping through her clenched teeth. "Should be."

Sam cursed his compassion. Everything told him not to get more involved with the girl, but his conscious would not stop badgering him to help her. He sheathed his blade and knelt beside the girl. She glared at him like he was evil incarnate, making Sam really hate his compulsions to do good even more. "Let me help you. I have a place near—"

"Like I would ever accept help from a Winchester," the girl forced out, her fingers twitching uncontrollably.

Sam decided to hit the angel-girl with his own scowl. "Listen, I'm guessing whatever did this to you is still out there, and chances are if it is, it's going to come looking for you. Now, do you really want to be out here—injured—when it finds you?"

She chuckled bitterly. "And you think you can protect me?"

"No, but I can at least bandage that." Sam pointed at her wound.

The girl looked at her injury then back at Sam. She made a face like she had just been forced to swallow a bucket full of frogs, but nodded her consent. Sam shifted closer to the girl. He tried to sling her arm over his shoulder to help her up, but she jerked away. "It's a long walk, let me help you," Sam said. He reached out for her arm again, meeting no resistance this time.

It was a long walk back to the bed and breakfast, a length that he would normally never subject an injured person to, but he hadn't just been bluffing earlier when he said whoever had harmed the angel would be after her. The need to get her out of the open and into somewhere secluded was high. Sam was also banking on the angel's abnormal strength to make the journey more bearable.

When they reached the building Sam was staying at, the angel groaned as Sam hauled her up all eleven flights of stairs—there was no elevator. Sam bumped into the owner of the bed and breakfast on his way to the room, earning a questioning look that had Sam's insides coiling with embarrassment. Gabriel had made it abundantly clear to anyone who listened that Sam and him were a couple. Sam could imagine what the owner was thinking at the sight of Sam returning to his room with a girl clinging to him.

Sam shoved open the door, and eased the girl onto the bed. He grabbed his bag from the corner of the room where he'd left it and searched for a first aid kit.

The girl shook off her coat and unbuttoned her blouse, grumbling. "Miriam."

"What?" Sam didn't look up as he pulled out a needle, thread, and a flask of alcohol.

"You may call me that."

Sam snorted. "Thanks for the permission, but I am more interested in what attacked you."

He went over to the bed with a box of bandages and the other items he had procured. He spread his supplies across the bedspread.

Miriam wiggled out of her top. Blood drenched her flank and stained half her bra.

Sam hissed in sympathetic pain at the large gash that looked like a Hell Hound had bitten into her side and tried to eat the flesh right off her bones. A simple needle and thread was not going to be enough to fix the damage.

Miriam chuckled bitterly. "That's only half of it. I just barely had enough power to maintain a glamour." As she spoke, thick streams of blood poured out of Miriam's back, originating out of lacerations that looked to be caused by massive claws.

Sam glanced at the purple coat and shirt she had been wearing to see that the two were soaked through on the back.

"Didn't have enough strength to hide the side." She spoke through gritted teeth as if the action pained her.

Sam nodded and set to work cleaning and treating her wounds. He was out of his element. He had taken care of many injuries in the past, some more lethal than others, but this was something that would normally have him declaring the person dead or rushing them to the hospital. He resorted to using hand towels to absorb most of the blood, and tossed them in the bathroom sink when he was done. It took him over an hour to complete the task. By then he had managed to get a quite a bit of information from Miriam.

She was just a foot soldier.

Healing had never been a skill of hers, even if she could technically do it.

She had noticed the strange number of deaths in the area too and had gone to investigate only to be cornered by a group of crossroads demons with a pack of Hell Hounds. She'd actually taken more damage in the fight, but between blows she had been healing herself, only to realize too late that she had used all of her power healing before a hound sank its teeth into her flank.

"So are your tedious attempts at healing me done, because I would like to take my leave." Bandaging Miriam had done nothing for her attitude.

Sam pushed on her shoulder and was surprised when she yielded to his touch and lay on the bed, resting on her stomach. "Just close your eyes and sleep."

"Angels do not sleep."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Just pretend. It will help your vessel heal faster."

Miriam whispered something begrudgingly about "powers" and "faster," but Sam chose to feign ignorance. She closed her eyes and shoved her face into the pillow.

Sam set about cleaning the room. Five minutes later he heard a snore so loud, for a moment—against all logic—he wondered if a bear had entered the room. He chuckled as he went about his business, occasionally glancing at the open-mouthed and unconscious angel. He thought he spotted drool dripping out of her mouth.

Sam's heart almost jumped out of his chest when he turned around from stowing things in his bag to find Gabriel standing over his sibling. His mouth was pinched tightly shut, and his eyes—lacking their normal humor—coldly stared at his sister. "What is she doing here?" He said just a decibel below average volume.

"She was injured."

"I can see that. I want to know why you thought it would be a good idea to bring her here when you know I am trying to hide from my family." Gabriel threw one hand up dramatically. "It's bad enough how many times I've revealed myself already. Even if I threatened every sibling we come across, eventually someone is going to talk."

This was not the Gabriel Sam knew. "She's your sister." Even if it was risky showing himself, Gabriel loved his family. He wouldn't leave one out to die if he could help it, at least, that was what Sam had thought.

Gabriel's jaw clenched. "Yeah well… there's more where that came from."

It was as if a shapeshifter had replaced Gabriel, except even a shapeshifter would know better than to start spouting off such crap. "Don't lie to me."

"I'm not—"

"No. I'll let you get away with a lot of shit, Gabriel, but when you have been spending the last couple months saying you don't want to get involved because it will just create another faction and worsen the civil war, you don't get to suddenly say you don't give a rat's ass about one of your siblings."

Gabriel was silent for a moment and then shrugged. "Well, if you are going to be like that, then I guess there is only one thing to do." He snapped his fingers, but nothing happened as far as Sam could see.

"Kick her out when she wakes up, and if she asks questions, tell her you called in a favor." Gabriel disappeared.

Sam was tempted to call the archangel back and give him a piece of his mind. Instead he marched over to the bed to make sure Gabriel hadn't done something to Miriam in her sleep.

Gabriel had, but what he'd done wasn't a prank. The bandages had disappeared from Miriam along with her wounds.

Sam sighed and slouched in his chair. At least he'd gotten that much out of Gabriel.

* * *

"I spend almost every waking hour staring at a tablet and you send me a photo of another tablet," Kevin deadpanned, his image a tad blurry on Sam's laptop. "If I didn't know you, I would take this as a declaration of war."

Sam chuckled, and adjusted the laptop so the camera was aimed better at his face and gave Kevin a decent glimpse of the room. He was staying at a Ryokan just a few minutes away by train from Inuyama, Japan. So far Sam had spent a few days in rural Japan, Gabriel claiming that he had to work Sam up to Tokyo levels of "awesomeness and craziness."

"So have you even been able to hunt demons or ghosts with Gabriel taking you everywhere?"

Sam nodded. "Not many, but a few." He was still monitoring deaths in Edinburgh, even though he was no longer there. He knew if there was a gang of crossroads demons with hell hounds running around he was going to need a strategy along with a lot of manpower. So far he had neither—not even Gabriel would help. "Nixed a ghost the other day at some high school about an hour away."

Kevin nodded and looked over his shoulder.

Sam leaned in, even though increasing his proximity with his screen would do nothing to help him hear whatever had caught Kevin's attention.

Then Dean popped into the background, carrying two armfuls of groceries.

"Dean?" The name flew off Sam's lips without a thought.

Dean came to a jarring stop and whipped his head toward Kevin and Sam. "Sam?"

Sam waved, and Kevin snickered as he pushed himself out of his seat. He clapped his hand on Dean's shoulder as he passed the older Winchester and said something that came through the speakers as a mumble. Dean shoved the bags into Kevin's arms and stomped over to Kevin's laptop, plopping himself into the chair the prophet had formerly occupied. "So you having fun on Sam's Grand Adventure?"

Sam huffed at the irritation in Dean's voice. "I left you a note."

"That barely explained anything. 'I'm going to spend time with Gabriel.' C'mon, Sam, you know I still have a hard time trusting the guy. Heck, are you even in the country? What if he chose to strand you? It's not like Cas can mojo you back to us."

"I thought you had gotten better about trusting him." Sam sighed in exasperation.

"No. I trusted you, and sorry, but intercontinental travel tosses that out the window, especially when I have no idea where you are or any way of getting to you if you need help. C'mon on, Sammy," Dean's tone became soft and pleading. "You know you would be freaked out just as much if it were me."

Sam begrudgingly admitted to himself that Dean was right. With a nod, he let Dean know too.

Sam's silent acknowledgement that he'd been a bit of an ass in his departure, seemed to suck the anger right out of Dean, because he sank deeper into the chair and kicked up one leg onto the tabletop. "So where are you now?"

"Close to Inuyama."

Dean perked up like dog with sausage waved in its face. "You're in Japan." Before Sam could confirm that statement, Dean cut in. "You have got to get me a copy of _Busty Asian Beauties_ from there."

Sam rolled his eyes. "One, I am not buying you porn."

"It's not porn."

"Two," Sam pressed on, "Do you really think a magazine monopolizing on an ethnicity fetish would really sell in the country from which that ethnicity is from?"

"Asians like Asians too."

There were no words to describe how profoundly stupid Sam thought his brother was at that moment. "Not the point."

"So where is the pipsqueak?" Dean slouched, still interested in the topic at hand, but not nearly as much as he had been before.

Sam mentally shuddered as he recalled what he had woken to that morning—something he was sure Gabriel had planned to happen. As Sam had rolled over and forced his eyes apart, he'd spotted Gabriel knelt on the tatami mat. It took Sam a a moment to realize his husband was dressed in school uniform for girls. When Sam questioned Gabriel about the look, the archangel mentioned something about perverts on a train and a big surprise under the skirt. Sam decided then not to use his deductive reasoning skills to figure out what Gabriel was up to, and just play stupid for the day. "He's local."

"Local?" Dean said dubiously.

"Just don't ask."

"He's treating you well, right?"

"Aside from the occasional prank, a few weird moments, and the lack of sex, I am living as good of a life as a gold digger or trophy wife."

Dean mockingly widened his eyes in intrigue and surprise. "Wow, well, aren't you just growing into your princess slippers? Tell him not to spoil you too much or you'll become a brat and get fat…again."

With that Sam and Dean dove into their friendly banter with insults sprinkled in just for fun. Sam learned that Dean was taking Castiel out on hunts and was steadily improving his skills. However, with good news came bad. There had been an increase in angel deaths, luckily none so horrible that Castiel experienced their death cries, but nonetheless each death weighed on Castiel while also making him more determined to help his siblings.

"I don't know, man. Have you talked to Gabriel?" Dean asked.

"Gabriel knows my thoughts on the matter."

"And…?"

Sam frowned. "Dean."

Dean sighed and held up his hands in surrender. "I get it. Can you blame me, though? It's not just about Cas. Every time one of those angels die they take a human with them. Poor bastards, bet they weren't told that when they let the angels in."

Sam understood, and if he honestly believed putting pressure on Gabriel to rise up and be a leader would work, he would do it in a heartbeat, but this matter with the angels was a mess, and he couldn't blame Gabriel for not wanting to get involved. One of Gabriel's nightmares had already come true—his siblings killing each other; he didn't need a second one too—his siblings killing themselves in his name or against it.

Sam's cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He frowned and stared at the tiny glowing screen. It was an unknown number, and it didn't look like it was from Japan or the U.S. . Bafflement knitted Sam's brow as he flipped his phone open, while holding up one finger to let Dean know to wait a moment. "Hello?"

"Sam Winchester," a female voice said in a very Castiel-like way. "This is Miriam."

It took a second for Sam to remember the girl angel from Edinburgh. "How do you have my number?" What the heck was with angels and stealing phone numbers?

"I pilfered it when you went to the bathroom."

"You were asleep."

"And I conveniently woke up a minute after you came out from using the toilet." Sam could hear the eye-roll in Miriam's voice, as if he were somehow stupid for thinking she'd really been asleep.

The discovery of her wakefulness caused worry to gnaw at Sam. Just how long had she been feigning sleep? "So were you awake the whole time?"

"No. Just awake for the last fifteen minutes."

Sam internally sighed in relief. He did not want to be the one to tell Gabriel one of his siblings knew about his presence and had not been properly threatened into silence.

"Who are you talking to?" Dean asked.

Sam held up his hand in Dean's face, and angled his body a few degrees away from the camera. "Okay, so why are you calling me? Last time I checked, you tolerated me, and only because you had to."

"I need help. Where are you?"

Sam hesitated. He barely knew Miriam. For all he knew she was one of the angels targeting Castiel and she planned to capture Sam to lure Castiel.

Miriam sighed. "You don't trust me. Understandable, but I sincerely need your help. Bartholomew attacked a group of my siblings who refused to take sides in the faction war. I have done my best to heal their most fatal injuries, but I only possess enough strength to fully heal a small handful of them or retrieve you from your current location. The few other angels capable of healing have used all of their grace."

Stunned was too mild a word to describe the shock and befuddlement that seized Sam. Miriam obviously thought that his tending of her wounds had healed her when really it was Gabriel. He had to let her know differently, but how could he tell her without revealing Gabriel? "I know you think I healed you, but I didn't. I had some help, and this help doesn't want to get involved anymore."

"I assumed as much, but your aid would still be appreciated. Bartholomew didn't just attack five or ten angels, Sam. He attacked an entire garrison. We are weak, we are tired, and we are drained to the point of being more human now than we have ever been, and we do not understand." Miriam sobbed.

"Are you crying?" Sam couldn't believe it. He didn't think he'd ever seen or heard an angel cry before.

"Why is my vessel leaking?" Miriam asked.

Sam guffawed. "Is the water coming from your eyes?"

"Are you talking to an angel or something?" Dean's face was scrunched with suspicion and displeasure. He rose slightly out of his seat as if he could magically pass through the computer screen into Sam's room.

"Yes," Miriam answered Sam's inquiry.

"You said you were drained, right? Well, it's probably not just your grace, but mentally and emotionally you are too. For humans that can cause them to cry sometimes."

"You poor, pathetic creatures."

"Sam," Dean used his warning tone, which meant if he didn't start getting answers about what was going on the other side of the phone line he was about to throw a fit.

"All right, I'll help. Just give me five minutes, Miriam, and I'll call you back."

"Thank you, Sam Winchester."

Sam snapped his phone shut and met the angry and waiting glare Dean gave him. "That was an angel."

"No shit, Sherlock."

"It sounds like a garrison of angels was attacked by Bartholomew, and they need help with the clean up."

Dean cursed. "So it's happening over there too?"

"Too?"

Dean shifted uncomfortable, and Sam knew in an instant that Dean had been keeping something from him. It sparked annoyance in Sam, but he kept himself calm by reminding himself that this was Dean who he was talking to, and as grating as his brother's protective nature could be, Dean would have told him eventually. "What's going on, Dean?"

Dean sighed in defeat, running a hand across the back of his neck as he composed himself. "I didn't think it was a big deal, since Bartholomew seems to be focusing on the states, but he's one of the ones responsible for many the angels' deaths going on here."

Sam cursed. "So he's gone international." At least there was one good thing about the information, it solidified some of Miriam's statements.

"I'll talk to Cas. We might be able to take this guy down."

"Don't get hasty. The guy is the leader of a faction, he's going to be protected by dozens if not hundred of angels. You'll get yourself and Cas killed if you just go charging into his home base without any plan."

Dean nodded, but he didn't seem to be listening.

"Dean," Sam chastised.

"I promise. Now don't you have a date?" Dean reached over and shut Kevin's laptop.

"Dean!" Sam groaned as black occupied the screen where his brother's face had been previously. He listened to the call disconnect and the screen flash to a sky blue. Sam huffed in surrender and closed his laptop. He opened his cell phone and looked for the last number he'd received then called it.

Miriam answered on the first ring, and Sam told her his location. He barely had time to blink before the girl angel was in the room with him. He wasn't given the chance to utter a syllable before Miriam whisked him off to Edinburgh.

The tatami mats, the sumie paintings, and perfectly arranged flowers that had covered his room were replaced by a wide room with only a few candles for light that illuminated the hundreds of plaques on the wall that indicated the identity of cadavers buried behind each nameplate. Spread across the floor or propped up against the walls were numerous angels—fifty at least—all with cuts and bruises. A few cradled their arms or prodded their legs, only to wince at the pain such an action caused.

Sam mentally cursed as the sheer number of angels in the mausoleum mentally overwhelmed him. "Please tell me you have bandages at least."

Miriam frowned. "We have sent two angels out to fetch medical supplies."

A male angel just a meter from Sam groaned. He was slouched against the wall with his head bowed so his chin touched his chest. Blood flowed freely from a laceration to his head. Burns marred his face and his hand looked like an elephant had crushed it. He lifted his face, and even such a small action looked like it took all of his strength. His brow pinched as he stared at Sam as if trying to solve a riddle. "A human?"

Miriam crouched and placed a hand on the man's shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze. "This is Sam Winchester. He is here to help."

The male angel chuckled in what Sam took as bitter amusement, but he let his head drop and made no further comment.

Miriam frowned and looked up at Sam expectantly.

Sam rolled up his sleeves. "Okay, until supplies arrive, show me around so we can figure out who needs immediate attention, who can handle a few hours without aid, and who is just going to have to walk it off."

Miriam nodded and hurriedly showed him around the mausoleum. Most of the angels were too exhausted to question his presence, but the few who did were either in awe or displeased by his presence—and "displeased" was putting it mild for some. There were a few times Sam thought he would be forcefully removed by the few angels who struggled to stand and push him out, but Miriam was always quick to defend his presence, a bit to Sam's surprise, considering her initial reaction to him. Even so, he was thankful for her protection.

The two angels who had gone out to get supplies returned, and that's when any feelings of resentment or superiority were temporarily put aside as Sam went from angel to angel tending wounds. Although, he found many times that he ended up playing grief counselor. He'd usually be bandaging someone, when Miriam would put a hand on him and lead him to an angel in emotional distress. Most of the time it was an angel crying about the loss of a comrade or bemoaning the war among their family. A few times though, there would be an angel who had moved past the initial grief and straight toward anger. Miriam always stayed close during those outbursts, but with some firm speech, a bit of yelling, and logic, Sam managed to quell the rage within the angels to the point that they would at least sit down and stop lashing out at everyone.

Hours had passed when Sam finished with the angels in need of immediate care. His stomach growled, and he called over one of the angels who had just finished patching up their sibling to tell the angel food would be needed for all those injured and relying on their vessel's natural healing capabilities. With a nod, the angel grabbed one of his siblings who had finished taking care of a broken arm, and the two went out for food.

More time passed, and Sam managed to snatch a sandwich from the pile of food that the two angels retrieved. He did his best not to make a face when he bit into a sandwich with cranberry jam and lettuce. After a few cleansing bites to get rid of his prejudice against the unknown taste, his taste buds adapted and he happily finished his meal before returning to work.

Two or three hours passed, and Sam had just calmed down another angel, who had started ripping plaques off the wall in anger, when Sam's phone vibrated in his pocket—the mausoleum got great reception apparently. He fished it out, and without looking at the name answered. "Hello?"

"Hey, Sam, I just got back to the room. Where are you?" It was Gabriel.

_Crap._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr](http://akira-of-the-twilight.tumblr.com/)


	9. Chapter 9

Sam tried to think of an excuse while he simultaneously debated using the truth. When every excuse he conjured sounded lame, he went with honesty. "In Edinburgh."

There was a long pause on the other line. "Please tell me Castiel got his grace back and you loved Edinburgh so much you had him swing by to grab you, and you are now giving him a tour of the city."

"An angel did pick me up."

"Sam," Gabriel said the name like it was a curse word.

"Everything is fine. I was just helping them out, and the worst is over, so I can ask Miriam to take me back right now."

"This isn't about whether you can come back or not. This is—" Gabriel cut himself off with a hiss. "I am not having this conversation on the phone with you, especially when you are surrounded by angels. Get your tight ass back here ASAP." There was a click and then the phone went dead.

"Is something wrong, Sam?" Miriam asked from behind Sam.

Sam ran a hand through his hair as he tucked his phone into his jeans' pocket. "If you could take me back, I would appreciate it."

Miriam frowned. "I am sorry, but my grace is still depleted." Her frowned deepened and she bowed her head. "I apologize again. I should have had the foresight to plan ahead and assure you some way of return travel."

_Great_ , Sam sarcastically thought, but kept his irritation to himself. "Okay, just help me find the way out of here and away from any angels."

"Is the friend you mentioned earlier going to get you?"

"Assuming he is not feeling vindictive, then yes."

Miriam gave a curt nod and led Sam through the throng of wounded angels to a series of steps and up to a large stone door that she easily shoved aside. The sky was a dark navy blue, indicating that the sun was just on the cusp of rising. Sam wrapped his arms around himself as the cold air sank into his skin and chilled his bones. White clouds of breath puffed out of his mouth as he listened intently to Miriam's instructions on how to leave the graveyard.

He nodded, and passed through the grassy resting place for the deceased, avoiding tombstones and what sounded like a couple having sex behind an angel statue. Sam had to shimmy up and over a gate to exit the graveyard, which he did with practiced ease. He then crossed a main street to reach a pub that still had its lights on.

As he stepped inside, the barkeep called out last rounds, which earned many rowdy responses as people clamored for their final drinks for the night. Sam used the distraction to slip into the bathroom and lock it from the inside after he checked that he was alone. He quickly called Gabriel.

"What's wrong?" Gabriel actually sounded worried.

"Turns out Miriam didn't have enough juice. I'm in the bathroom at a pub in Edinburgh. It is by a graveyard, and I noticed a dog statue nearby as I was crossing the street. If you could—"

"Tag, you're it." Gabriel tapped Sam on the shoulder as he appeared in front of the hunter, still holding his phone to his ear.

Sam released a tension filled breath and closed his phone just as Gabriel did his. "Sorry about that."

Gabriel jabbed his finger against Sam's shoulder. "You got a lot more to apologize for, bud. What was running through that enormous head of yours, because I thought you were smart enough to know not to get involved with my siblings."

Sam looked around at the row of stalls and the connecting sinks. "You really want to have this discussion in a bathroom?"

Gabriel shrugged. "As long as no one can overhear then I don't care where we talk, and trust me, no one out there is going to hear anything." He cocked his chin at the door. "So what part of 'Gabriel doesn't want to get involved' don't you understand?"

"I do understand, but that doesn't mean _I_ don't want to get involved. It's not just your siblings who are dying here; it's humans too. And…" Sam hesitated, the words on the tip of his tongue. He knew what he wanted to say next wasn't something to be spoken lightly, and he had to make certain he was sincere before he unleashed the words on Gabriel. "…and they're—the angels—they're my family too."

Gabriel scoffed and waved off Sam's comment. "That's a nice sentiment, but you don't even know them."

Sam's fist clenched at the prick of hurt Gabriel's apathetic brush off caused him. "So what? Just because I don't know them doesn't mean I can't care."

"Oh really?" Gabriel titled his head in a dubious act as he took a step toward Sam in a challenging manner. "Because I doubt that."

Sam would not be pushed around, and he met Gabriel's step with his own. "Well, tough shit, because as much as you may not believe it, or don't want to believe, I care about you, so I care about them too."

Gabriel sputtered. "Care about me? You won't even—"

"Don't even start with the fact that I haven't jumped in the sack with you yet, because you and I both know that as much as you like to whine about that, it's not what really bothers you. If it did, you would have taken off long ago." Sam took a deep breath to calm the blaze of righteousness that fueled him. "I told you when you were human that I cared about you, and guess what Gabriel, that hasn't changed, and because of that, I care about what you care about. So if you are worried about your family then so am I, and if you have any doubts about that just look around. I am with _you_. I am trying to make a relationship work with _you_. If that isn't enough evidence, then I don't even know why I am here."

The fire that had given Sam the strength to be so blunt and honest dwindled. Sam's insides dropped several degrees as he waited for Gabriel's response, but the archangel just stared him with eyes filled with bitterness and doubt.

Sam's words had come from a place of passion and honesty, but had not been thought through, so when Gabriel did not immediately respond, the weight and sincerity of Sam's last sentence hit the young hunter like a sledgehammer. He really didn't know what he was doing with Gabriel if the archangel couldn't see that he cared. For the first time since he'd entangled himself in Gabriel, Sam truly felt lost.

Shaking his head, Sam turned his back on Gabriel and headed for the door. "Forget it. I'll go check myself into a hotel for the day. "

Sam's hand wrapped around the doorknob just as Gabriel's hand slammed onto the door. The archangel's chest pressed up against Sam's side. "Jeez, Sasquatch. Don't be such a girl."

Sam glared at Gabriel, who smiled knowingly up at Sam.

When Sam continued to glower and did not take his hand off the doorknob, Gabriel's smile faltered and he dropped his hand from the door. He rubbed his neck uncertainly. He whistled lowly. "Wow. Really pissed you off, didn't I?"

"Yeah…" Sam's voice trailed off. He glanced at his hand, internally debating his next move, then dropped it from the doorknob. "I pissed you off too, though."

Gabriel nodded, leaning against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. "So what are we going to do?"

"I don't know." Sam propped himself up against the wall opposite Gabriel. "I mean it, Gabriel. If your siblings need help then I want to help, even if it puts you at risk of being discovered. I can hide you, and I can make excuses for you to Dean and Cas, but if one of your siblings asks for help and genuinely needs it, I can't ignore that."

"Just think about all the crap they have put you and Dean through."

"You mean the crap Zachariah, Uriel, Raphael, and Lucifer put us through? Forget about Cas, Balthzar, Samandiriel, and any other angel that has helped us or done us no harm?"

"Hey, Balthazar tried to get you to kill Bobby, and Cas had his power trip, remember?"

"And now Cas is my brother-in-law and Balthazar died trying to help Dean and me, kind of like you."

Gabriel made a sound of disregard. "Please, don't even compare me to that prissy wannabe. He was always copying me, that prick."

Sam chuckled.

Gabriel smiled.

All the tension seemed to evaporate at that moment and peace enveloped them. Sam hated to ruin the moment, but he needed to know where Gabriel stood with things. "So what about you?"

"What about me?"

Sam pointedly looked at Gabriel, silently communicating that he did not appreciate Gabriel's flippant attitude.

Gabreil scuffed his toe across the tiled floor and bowed his head as he mulled over his words. Finally he let out an annoyed breath and met Sam's gaze as he crossed his arms. "I still don't want you to do it. Even ignoring that I don't want to be caught, I am not too keen on the idea of you being on the frontlines fighting my sibling when they can kill you with a poke."

"But I am not fighting anyone."

"Yet."

"Okay," Sam paused, letting his thoughts come together and formulate a plan. "How about this? I promise I will not fight any of your siblings—baring self-defense—if you allow me to heal them or find them aid as long as I communicate with you beforehand so that you know where I am and what's going on. I'll also make sure that no angels see you."

Gabriel frowned. "I still don't like it."

Sam rolled his eyes. "It's a compromise, Gabe. No one is ever fully content with a compromise, but as long as you can live with it, we are good."

Gabriel eyelids fluttered in rapid succession as he something in his gaze lit up. For a moment he was lost within himself, but another blink and he returned to the real world before Sam had a chance to call him out of his reverie. The corner of his mouth curled upward, and he took a step toward Sam. "Gabe? Really, Hubby, can't think of a more original nickname?"

"What? I—" Sam ran his sentences through his head, and internally jumped in surprise when he realized what he had said.

He had no idea what kind of face he was making, but it must have been hilarious, because Gabriel laughed as he slid closer. His hands rested on Sam's waist, just above the hips. "I think I can handle your compromise. The only question is, now that we have settled my problem for the evening, how do we take care of yours?"

"Mine?"

Gabriel innocently raised an eyebrow as he tilted his head up to look at Sam. "Don't tell me that bitch fit came from nowhere." He smirked. "Don't worry, Hubby. I know exactly how to get you to relax." Suddenly the two hands that were on Sam's waist traveled to his butt, squeezed, and lifted him off the floor.

With their height difference, Sam's upper body swung forward as Gabriel hoisted him up, and Sam scrambled to grab Gabriel's shoulders to keep himself from falling forward, and possibly out of Gabriel's hold and into a head-on collision with the floor.

Gabriel pushed Sam onto the bathroom counter, Sam's back hitting the mirror and Gabriel standing between Sam's legs with a smirk on his face. Sam surveyed the situation. "Usually I'm the one doing the lifting."

Gabriel leaned in close, his mouth inches from Sam's. "Just one of the perks of being married to an angel." With that, Gabriel launched himself at Sam, his lips pressing against Sam's as if he were dying of thirst and Sam's mouth was the only source of water around for miles.

Sam groaned in the back of his throat as fingers gripped his hip and Gabriel pushed himself up against Sam, threatening to climb on top of the hunter. Gabriel moved his lips against Sam's, the tip of a tongue just ghosting along Sam's mouth, which Sam invited in. Sam used their dance of lips and tongues to take advantage of the situation and slid his hands around Gabriel's back, letting them dip lower and lower until his hands hovered just over Gabriel's ass.

Gabriel moaned, and the vibrations killed Sam's patience. He slammed his hands on Gabriel's butt and heaved the angel forward and up, so Gabriel had one leg bent on the counter, while his other stood on its tiptoe to keep balance.

Gabriel broke their kiss, a puff of hot breath teasing Sam's lips. "Aggressive today?"

Sam answered by yanking Gabriel closer so their mouths crushed once again and their privates clashed. The friction was delicious and sent a wave of pleasure through Sam's body.

A loud bang came from the bathroom door. "Enough with the sex! People need to use the facilities too!"

Sam burst with laughter as Gabriel pulled away and lowered his head with a moan of defeat. He glowered at the door. "You asshole! I had finally made some progress!"

* * *

"Don't you think it would be weird for two fully grown men to go to a children's amusement park together?" Sam asked as he paced around the small motel room and shook a bag of salad that he had filled with dressing.

"It's Disneyland, or Disney-whatever depending on what country you're in. It doesn't matter what age or gender you are, everyone is welcomed there, and it's not like I am asking you to go on Gay Day," Gabriel said from his perch atop the edge of the small table offered by the motel.

Sam stopped shaking his salad and paused in the middle of the room. "Disneyland has Gay Day?"

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Yes, Sam. How is it someone who knows so much knows so little?"

Sam went to the kitchenette and pulled out a bowl from one of the cupboards. "Because knowing that Disneyland has a Gay Day won't help me survive a werewolf, a vampire, or anything supernatural that wants to kill me." Sam poured his leafy greens drenched in dressing into the bowl and tossed the plastic bag into the bin under the sink.

"Have you even gone to Disneyland? With all your traveling your dad had to have taken you at least once."

Sam gathered up his lunch for the day and shooed Gabriel off the table so he could eat there.

Gabriel frowned as he moved from his spot. "Sam?"

Sam took a bite of salad, enjoying the crunch and herbal taste of the croutons.

Gabriel gaped. "He didn't take you?"

Sam shrugged. "It's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal? Sam, almost every child in a country that has a Disneyland of some sort has gone at least once in their life!"

Sam would bet most of those children weren't given a gun when they told their dad they were scared of the boogieman under their bed. As much as he still resented his dad for giving him and Dean such a lousy childhood, he had come to accept that as much as he may want a normal life, he didn't have one, and chances were he wasn't ever going to have one. So when his phone rang, and cut off Gabriel's tangent about how deprived Sam was, Sam silently thanked the person on the other end of line as he shushed Gabriel.

"Hello?"

"Sam Winchester, my name is Joel. I am one of the angels who you helped in Edinburgh."

"Oh…" Sam couldn't remember a Joel, but then again, he had been busy at the time. Sam scrounged for something to say as Gabriel's face scrunched with displeasure. "Did Miriam give you my number?"

"Yes. I called for her assistance, but it appears Bartholomew has not relented in attacking the garrison stationed there. It is why I am in Killarney, Ireland. I was supposed to ask our brothers and sisters here to help us, but it appears Bartholomew struck before I could make it. Luckily, we have many healers, but there are still many who are confused and distraught."

"So what do you want me to do?"

"Perhaps you do not remember me, but I was one of the angels who after the battle lashed out at my brethren. I had Amos in my grip and was strangling him for suggesting that we should give up and surrender to Bartholomew. That is when you appeared and reminded me that I did not desire the death of my brother Amos, and encouraged Amos not to give up. Human emotions are still new to us, and in our injured states we are more easily overcome by them, if you could be a guide for us once again, we would be grateful."

Sam looked at Gabriel for a response. He knew Gabriel could hear everything on the other side of phone, and while in theory Gabriel would let Sam help Joel and the others without complaint, Sam needed to see Gabriel's acceptance before he could agree to anything.

A frown wrinkled Gabriel's brow, but the archangel leaned in and planted a soft kiss on Sam's lips. As they part Gabriel nodded. In a soft flutter of wings he vanished from the room.

"Sam?" Joel's voice came through concerned.

Sam cleared his throat and sat up straight. "Sure, I can help." Sam rattled off his address and a moment later a tall male angel with a dark beard and wearing a fedora like a mob-boss-wannabe appeared in the motel room. Sam stole three more bites of his salad before letting Joel take him to Killarney where the angels were hiding in the basement of a pub.

While the basement of a pub was a step up from a mausoleum, the angels gathered there had not faired much better. There were not as many angels as there had been in Edinburgh, but the amount was still high. The first thing Sam did when he arrived was slide into a spot next to two teenage angels who were curled up and crying.

The blonde girl teen lifted her head from her knees at his presence and wiped her eyes. After blinking she stared hard at Sam. "Are you Sam Winchester?"

The question made her partner next to her raise his head, revealing eyes stained red from crying.

Sam nodded.

"So you are here to help us?" The girl asked.

"I'm going to try to. Now tell me what happened before you started crying, even if you were just thinking about something and actually did nothing." Sam found that it was usually easier to soothe the angels once he knew what triggered them to turn into a ball of anger or an endless supply of tears. If he could explain what caused their vessels to act outside of their control then often the angels could find a way to re-center themselves and calm down. There had been a few times when he just had to let the angel vent but find a constructive way for them to do so.

After talking to the teens they were able to stop shedding tears, and just in time for him to break up a fight between two other angels who were shoving each other around, despite broken arms and gashes along their ribcages. With some help from Joel, he managed to separate the two and get them to expend their energy by bandaging their siblings. He was surprised when a half hour later one of them came up to him and thanked him for stopping the brawl.

It was the angels who had lost faith that were the hardest to console. They constantly asked questions that Sam didn't have the answers to. It was just like the night after Gabriel had heard the death cries of one of his siblings. The archangel had been lost then, and so just as Sam had done with Gabriel, he didn't answer the inquiries. Instead, he'd just sit, listen, and be there until the angel stood up and left. Sometimes the angel would thank him, although, Sam never felt he deserved the gratitude.

Hours passed before Sam got a text from Gabriel saying it was dinnertime.

Sam went up to Joel to ask for help back to the motel. Joel nodded and pressed his fingers to Sam's head.

Just like that, Sam was back in the motel room with Joel.

Joel grabbed Sam's hands, like a priest offering a blessing. "Thank you, Sam Winchester. If you ever need anything, those of us you have helped today will gladly return the favor."

Sam shifted uncomfortably. "Uh, thanks."

Joel nodded curtly and let go of Sam's hands. He vanished in the blink of an eye.

Sam got out a sigh just as Gabriel popped into the room wearing a set of Mickey Mouse ears and holding a bag of take out. "I hope you weren't expecting gourmet."

Sam chuckled, feeling immensely more comfortable with Gabriel.

* * *

"Are you sure it's here?" Sam whispered as he sidled down the wall of an old, run down factory. The dried grass crunched under his feet, as he avoided stepping on a crushed soda can.

"Archangel, Sam. If I say the demon is here, then it's here."

"Then why didn't we see it when you transported us inside?" Sam hissed. It had been two weeks since he'd helped the angels in Killarney, and it seemed like every other day after he'd been called to one place or another to act as an angel counselor. As much as he wanted to help the angels he hadn't planned on his days becoming nothing but a string of complaints as each angel shared their woes with him.

Gabriel also did not appreciate the loss of Sam's time, although, Sam argued it wasn't much different for Gabriel than when Sam went on a case, but Gabriel insisted it was very different and a lot more annoying, since he couldn't pop in on Sam whenever he wanted to. So to satisfy Sam's need for action and Gabriel's desire to spend time together, they were on hunt for a snake monster that had been paralyzing its victims and taking said victims back to its nest. Sam and Gabriel had arrived just in time to stop it from taking another victim, but not before the young man was bit and the poison made him immobile.

"Snakes are crafty and fast, Sam. It probably snuck away before we could find it." Gabriel stayed close behind Sam, as Sam moved out from behind the factories' wall and peeked through the large broken door to see if the demon lay inside.

"The witness reports say it was huge though. How could we miss it?"

Gabriel sighed. "Do you want me to take a look around again?"

"Please."

Gabriel nodded and disappeared.

Sam eased open the door and tiptoed into the building. He scanned the room, but saw only broken beams and leftover pieces of equipment that had been abandoned long ago. He shoved aside a broken hammer by his feet as he wandered into the building, his gun in hand.

A shadow moved overhead.

Sam whirled and aimed his gun.

Nothing but a broken chunk of roof.

Sam frowned, not liking how he felt like some poor sap in a horror movie.

A soft hiss came from Sam's left.

Sam whirled in time to see a large mass of scaled flesh slide behind a busted crate.

Sam shot.

The hiss filled the room as the scaled flesh rose up to reveal a tail larger than Sam.

Sam gulped and mentally cursed as he backtracked. Why hadn't he brought a giant machete?

Sam's back bumped into something plush as hot air blew across the back of his neck. Sam cursed again; he really was stuck in a bad horror movie. He turned his head an inch and was face to face with a giant snake possessing eyes larger than Sam's head. Sam didn't have time to whirl as the snake's tail wrapped around him, lifted him off the floor, and squeezed him like a ragdoll.

Sam gasped and struggled to free his arm so he could shoot the snake in the face as the pressure built across his chest and ribs, threatening to crush him.

"Look out below!" Gabriel shouted, as he fell from the hole in the roof, angel sword in hand. He thrust the blade between the snake's eyes and dangled in front of its nostrils.

The snake reared back with a hiss, its tail coiling tighter around Sam.

"Gabriel," Sam gasped as he pushed his arms against the scales wrapped around him, but his efforts were in vain, and his muscles and bones cried out in pain as they were pushed to the brink of being shattered and smashed into a paste.

"Hold on, Hubby." Gabriel let go of his sword, plummeting to the ground, only to catch himself on the tail crushing Sam. Gabriel slid his fingers between the scales and Sam. He pried the snake's grip apart so Sam fell through and hit the ground with a grunt.

Gabriel was at his side in an instant. "You okay?"

Sam nodded and looked up at the snake only to gape as the blade in the snake's face glowed a bright light. "Gabriel?"

Gabriel wrapped an arm around Sam's shoulders and positioned himself over Sam. "Just a special spell I used. Close your eyes."

The snake's tail flailed as it shook its head to dislodge the sword, the bright light growing with each second.

Sam squeezed his eyes shut just as an explosion reverberated across the building.

Gunk, slime, and what Sam hoped was just a few of the snake's body parts (and not a digested lunch that the snake hadn't gotten rid of) drenched Sam. Sam sputtered and wiped at his face.

Gabriel plastered his hand on Sam's mouth. "Careful. If any of its poison gets in your system, you'll be paralyzed for weeks, even with my help." Gabriel snapped his fingers and produced a handkerchief that he gave Sam to wipe the green slime off and away from his mouth.

Sam raised one arm as he finished cleaning the area around his lips and stared at the sap like substance that clung to his arm and side, creating a sort of mucus-made wing. He dropped his arm. "Did you have to make it explode? And what was that?"

"I told you it was a spell." Gabriel smirked and leaned forward as he straddled Sam's lap. "And yes, I had to make it explode, because how else was I supposed get you the world's perfect styling gel." Gabriel ran his fingers through Sam's hair then pulled the strands up to form a Mohawk. "It's so you, Sam!"

A smile glued itself onto Sam's face as he chuckled softly. "Oh really? Because I think you could use it more." Sam slipped his fingers through blond strands and tugged them out to the side to give Gabriel tiny pigtails. "Oh, and I'm sure this would make a great exfoliating cream too." Sam ran his hands down Gabriel's face smearing it with green slime.

Gabriel shook with laughter and fell forward, his forehead plunking against Sam's.

A warmth settled in Sam's stomach as he watched the angel laugh. He beamed—delighted that he was the cause behind Gabriel's laughter.

Gabriel slipped an arm around Sam in a half hug and rested his chin on Sam's shoulder. "Dang, I love you."

Sam tensed. "What?"

Gabriel practically turned to stone in Sam's lap. He pulled away from Sam, his eyes roving over Sam's face. There was panic in Gabriel eyes as he examined Sam. The panic was swiftly replaced with hurt.

Sam's heart lurched and he opened his mouth to explain his lack of a reciprocating confession, but Gabriel was already gone.

* * *

_C'mon Gabriel, just talk to me._ Sam stared up at the ceiling as he sat on the edge of his motel bed dressed in sweats. It had been days since he had seen and heard from Gabriel. He'd tried praying and he'd even called and texted the archangel, but so far he'd been ignored.

He had grown so desperate to get Gabriel to talk to him, Sam had even tried to get in contact with Dean for advice, but his brother wasn't answering, and Kevin hadn't been on skype to arrange a meeting.

Sam sighed and hung his head, burying his face in his hands. Taking a deep breath, Sam let his hands slip down his face, and stood. He stuffed the keycard into his sweatshirt's pocket as he exited the small motel room and took off jogging down the black road. A mist hung over the small town Sam had taken residence in for the last few days. His motel was located right on the edge of town, next to a forest. Sam followed the black road out of town and through the forest, enjoying the greenery and letting his mind wander.

He still had no idea what he was going to say to Gabriel when he saw the archangel again. He'd spent his time alone analyzing every thought and feeling he'd ever had toward Gabriel, trying to piece together a sentence that would offer Gabriel some sort of peace of mind, but every word he strung together was inadequate, except for the set of words he'd already said to Gabriel: He cared.

Caring wasn't the same as loving though, and Sam feared that unless he could express those four letters honestly, Gabriel wouldn't come back.

The notion was a punch in the gut.

His phone rang, and Sam slowed down his jog to a stop. He looked at the screen, hoping to see "Husband" on it, but his heart sank with disappoint when he saw an unknown number instead.

He flipped open the phone with a huff, expecting another call for help from the angels. He was tempted to answer like Gabriel and say something like: "Hello, Sam's angel counseling services. Feeling too human? We'll get you feeling ethereal again in minutes." Instead, Sam went with a simple, "Hello."

"Ah, Sam Winchester, I hear you have developed quite the reputation with my siblings. I hope I can make just as great an impression on yours."

Sam frowned and tensed at the mention of his brother. "Who is this?"

"Oh forgive me for the lack of introductions. This is Bartholomew, I'm sure you have heard of me."

Sam's breath caught in his throat.

"Speechless? You and your brother are more alike than I thought."

"What have you done with Dean?" Sam demanded, all traces of fear leaving him at the prospect of his brother being in trouble.

"Nothing yet, and it will continue to be that way, as long as you cooperate."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr](http://akira-of-the-twilight.tumblr.com/)


	10. Chapter 10

Sam's insides were in knots as adrenaline pumped through his body. He theorized possible requests from Bartholomew and strategized ways to trick the angel into thinking he was cooperating when really he had another plan waiting in the wings. "What do you want?" Sam could already hear the demand for Castiel or the angel tablet.

"Simple: you."

Sam's thoughts rammed together like cars crashing as their brakes failed to save them from collision. "Me?" The only reason Sam didn't ask about Castiel was the off chance that Bartholomew either assumed Castiel wasn't with the Winchesters or he was misinformed about Castiel's whereabouts. Either way, Sam was not going to put ideas in Bartholomew's head.

"Yes, you."

"Why?" Bartholomew had Dean—there was no greater lure for Castiel, and Dean knew just as much about the angel tablet as Sam.

Bartholomew chuckled in a soft yet confident way that made Sam's nerves twitch in anticipation of a strong verbal blow or great revelation. "Because I would like to meet with the human who has managed to win the hearts of so many of my indecisive brethren."

The response gave Sam pause. "So you're mad because your siblings like me more than you? Have you tried not killing them?"

There was a sound in the background, and Bartholomew's voice came back laced with restrained anger. "Such remedial terminology is unbecoming and does little to describe the severity of the situation we find ourselves in. Also, while it is unfortunate that due to their lack of convictions many angels have found themselves in hazardous situations, all that would be remedied if they used their higher thinking to reach the logical conclusion that the sibling offering to return them home is the one they should trust in."

Sam snorted in mild amusement. "Do you even know how to return them to Heaven?"

"That is of no concern to you, human. What is of concern to you is what I will do to your brother if you do not come willingly to me in the next minute."

Sam's hold on the phone tightened as he was reminded what had set off his defenses moments prior. "Prove you have him."

There was a shuffling sound and Dean's shouts. The cries grew louder and more understandable with each passing second the phone was transferred over to Dean. "Sam, whatever he is telling you, don't listen!"

"What did I tell you, Dean?" Sam asked through gritted teeth. The question was both a test to see if Sam really was talking to Dean and a way to vent his frustration.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Don't break into Bartholomew's home base. Now listen to me, don't—"

The phone was tugged away from Dean and Bartholomew's voice replaced the hunter's. "So as you can infer, Sam, my threats are very much real. Now why don't you tell me where you are and I'll have one of my brothers pick you up and you can have your happy reunion with Dean?"

Sam bit the inside of his cheek as he mentally cursed his situation. He needed more time. "Give me five minutes."

"And give you time to strategize your way out of this? I don't think so."

Time to go balls to the wall and bluff. "Well then, the answer is 'go screw yourself'."

There was a pause in which Sam bet Bartholomew was struggling to comprehend that Sam Winchester, brother of Dean Winchester—the little brother who was utterly destroyed when he lost Dean in the past—would refuse to save his brother. "Now that is a good bluff, but I know you Winchesters. You—"

"You know nothing about me. Bye." Sam pried the phone off his ear and hovered his finger over the end call button.

"All right, you want your five minutes?" Bartholomew spat out the words like they were the most vilest things to ever be in his mouth. "You have it, but know that Dean will be the one paying the price for your extension."

As long as Sam was able to conjure a way to save Dean, then a five minute angel beating was better than falling into Bartholomew's ploy and killing them both, Sam reminded himself. "Fine. Call me back in five." Sam hung up the phone and sucked in a deep breath through his nostrils as he tried to calm himself.

He wasn't an idiot. No amount of holy oil or angel blades was going to help him escape with Dean from Bartholomew's base, although it might help take a few angels down with him. The obvious solution was to call Gabriel and ask for help, but as Sam returned his phone to his pocket, the silver band around his finger caught his attention and he hesitated. He twirled the ring around his finger as he replayed all the times Gabriel had confessed his fear about getting involved and the times Gabriel had helped Sam despite that fear.

Sam stopped toying with his ring. He had to find a way to solve the problem without getting Gabriel involved.

_Miriam? Joel? Are one of you out there? Bartholomew has Dean and I need help rescuing him._

"You have no idea what you are asking, do you?" Miriam appeared before Sam in the middle of the brush lining the road, a scowl prominent on her face. "You have seen what he has done to so many of us, and now you ask us to risk ourselves for your brother?"

Sam's blood boiled, and he was ready to pounce on her with a verbal attack, but was cut off by Joel, who appeared at Sam's shoulder. "Just as we have asked him to put himself in danger, or do you not think it is perilous for a human to be around emotionally unstable angels with a tendency to lash out?"

Miriam pressed her lips together in a firm line, unable to rebuke Joel's claim.

"We owe you a lot, Sam Winchester," Joel admitted.

"But the very reason why we have been attacked by Bartholomew is because we do not want to get involved in this war." Miriam stepped out of the brush, swiping away leaves and twigs that clung to her clothes. "Even though you have gained some popularity, that doesn't mean all of those you have helped are willing to fight and kill for you."

Sam balked. "I don't want anyone to kill for me. Heck, I don't even want you fighting for me, but I am outnumbered here. If you guys could just create some kind of distraction so I could grab my brother and run, that's all I would need."

"I fear the only distraction that would work on such short notice would be an attack," Joel said.

Sam gut churned. "Listen, I get that you don't want to fight, but I only got a minute left before Bartholomew calls me back, so if you could please, ask those I've helped if they'd be willing, I would appreciate it. Dean is all I have left of my family."

Miriam's hardened face appeared to crack at the confession. Joel nodded and then the two stared at each other. Sam suspected they were silently communicating. Joel nodded again and disappeared from Sam's side.

Miriam headed back to the brush. "We'll see what we can do." Miriam ducked behind a tree.

Before Sam could question her actions, a sound blasted from his phone. He took a deep breath as he answered it, knowing who it would be on the other side of the line. "Bartholomew."

"What is your decision, Sam?"

Sam glanced in Miriam's direction. He could see the shoulder of her jacket peeking out from behind the tree she'd hidden herself behind. He had no idea what Joel and Miriam had in mind, but he was going to trust that they intended to help him and would do so. "All right, I'll comply, but you have to promise to let my brother go." His request was part of his helpless act, but it didn't stop a piece of him from hoping that if Miriam and Joel didn't help that Dean would still be allowed to walk free.

"Of course, Sam. Now, where are you?" Bartholomew was smug as he spoke, and Sam wished he could punch the angel in the face as he told his location to the faction leader.

A man with a curly dark beard and dressed in a suit showed up a moment later. He held himself tall and straight with his hands behind his back as he lazily strolled up to Sam. He raised two fingers up to touch Sam's forehead. It took all of Sam's willpower not to flinch away from the lackey. As the fingers made contact with his forehead, Sam closed his eyes and braced himself for the whoosh that came with being transported via angel airways.

"Damn it, Sammy! What did I tell you?" Dean's voice was the first indication that Sam was no longer in the middle of the forest.

Sam's eyes flew open to find himself on a sound stage with Dean knelt on the floor with his hands tied behind his back. Blood dripped down his face from his broken nose and cuts scattered across his face. Two angels in matching suits stood beside him with their swords drawn.

Sam took an instinctive step toward Dean, only to be yanked back by an iron grip on his arm. Sam whirled in the hold of the angel who had brought him to Dean. Sam internally flinched as a blond man with a white, shark-like smile strode toward him in a manner that reeked of confidence and spoke of an attitude that reveled in power. He had never met Bartholomew, but Sam knew intrinsically this was the man he'd been talking to on the phone.

"So good to see you, Sam," Bartholomew greeted, stopping just a foot short of Sam.

Sam glowered. "Release my brother."

"I will, once we make certain our little upstart here is taken care of." A sword slipped out of the sleeve of Bartholomew's jacket and into the angel's hand. "Any last words?"

Sam glanced around the room, hoping to see any sign of Miriam or Joel. He slid his hand into his sweatshirt's large pocket for his useless pocketknife. "For a guy working at a TV studio, I would have expected more original lines."

Dean sniggered despite the perilous situation.

Bartholomew smirked. "I'm a producer, not a writer." Bartholomew lunged, thrusting the sword at Sam's heart.

Sam back-jumped and pulled out his knife, flicking the blade out.

The grip on his arm threatened to crush his bones as Bartholomew struck out for a second time.

Dean's voice rang out as he shouted instructions at Sam, but they fell on deaf ears as it seemed like time slowed down for Sam. In that instant it became all too real how ill-prepared he was and that his death was all too imminent.

In a blink, Miriam appeared in front of Sam, sword drawn and pushing Bartholomew's blade back.

Bartholomew stumbled backwards as he was shoved away.

Sam didn't have time to appreciate Bartholomew's shocked countenance as the hand on his arm was ripped away and there was a loud crash. Sam whirled to find Joel in place of the angel who had brought him to Bartholomew, and that the aforementioned angel was sprawled with his back pressed against the wall, upside down, with his head and neck pushing against the floor.

The two angels at Dean's side moved to join the fray, only for another pair of angels to appear behind them and knock them out with the blunt end of their swords.

Dean gaped. "What the hell?"

More angels dressed in suits burst in through the double-doors of the room.

Tens of angels dressed in street clothes appeared in the middle of the room with swords, and Sam recognized all of their faces. There were two teenagers he'd coached through their feelings when Joel had first asked for his help, a man who in his rage had punched one of his siblings through a wall, a girl who'd had her arm torn to shreds, a man who'd had two broken legs, and many more.

There must have been at least fifty of them, more angels than Sam had ever thought would help him. He had thought Bartholomew was just overreacting, thinking there was a threat that didn't truly exist when he'd said angels were forming a group behind Sam, but at that moment, Sam could see the truth in Bartholomew's words. It was touching, amazing, and terrifying all at once.

Battle cries filled the room as the angels dove at each other, Bartholomew's side striking mercilessly, as the other angels did their best to knock their brethren unconscious or immobilize them.

"Sammy!" Dean ran toward Sam, wiggling out of the ropes used to bind his hands.

Sam raced toward his brother, dodging stray sword thrusts and punches until he met his brother. "Where is the exit?"

Dean shook his head. "We gotta get, Cas. He's in Bart's office."

Sam cursed as his hope that Castiel had managed to avoid capture was squashed. "You sure?"

Dean nodded as he made a move toward the double doors. "One of the big guys made a comment."

Sam followed Dean, using the path his brother created to avoid most of the fights. The battle had spilled out into the hall, and Sam and Dean had to jump over two angels who were grappling on the floor, having lost their swords in mid battle. Dean dashed down the hall as if he knew where he was going, even though Sam doubted that was the case—Sam knew if he was in Bartholomew's position he would have blindfolded Dean and Castiel or separated them before delivering them to their rooms, so they wouldn't be able to find each other easily.

Dean grabbed the doorknob of a door with a glass window that had words printed across the top of it. The door rattled but refused to budge. "Cas!"

Sam caught up to Dean in time to hear the guttural reply of "Dean?" from beyond the door.

That was all the encouragement Dean needed. He jogged five steps away from the door then rammed his shoulder into it. There was a resounding bang as the door was yanked off it hinges, followed by glass shattering as the door hit the wall.

Castiel hung like a rag doll from the ceiling fan by his bound wrists. Blood dribbled out of his mouth and nose. He looked like a raccoon with his two black eyes that matched the smattering of bruises peeking out from the tears in his shirt. It looked like Bartholomew had taken his time cutting each inch of Castiel's skin and then cauterizing the wounds—no doubt without anything to lessen the pain as the skin was burned.

Dean yanked the chair out from Bartholomew's desk and placed it under the fan. In seconds, he climbed the chair and whipped out a small knife to cut the rope holding Castiel up.

Sam was there, gently holding Castiel's waist so he wouldn't immediately crumple to the floor once free from his bindings. Dean sliced, and Castiel fell into Sam's arms with a grunt. Sam eased Castiel on his feet as Dean hurried off the chair and examined Castiel. If it weren't for the dire situation, Dean would have gone into full mother-hen mode right there. Instead, he swung Castiel's arm around his shoulder and rushed toward the door. "Let's get the hell out of here."

Sam nodded, dashing along right behind Dean.

The trio came to a screeching halt though as Miriam appeared in the doorway with her sword held up. Her eyes widened with fright as she pushed Dean and Castiel down and dove at Sam.

Panic and confusion flooded Sam, but instinct was stronger and he moved to the left to dodge only to feel something clamp on his head. At first it was like someone had just stuck a metal helmet two-sizes too small on his skull, and then his entire being was on fire. He was distantly aware that he was screaming, but all he could focus on was the inferno melting his insides and tearing apart his barely held together being.

He saw Miriam get flung into a wall, and he heard Bartholomew hissing into his ear words that carried no meaning in his agonized state.

Sam saw a light glow from within himself; he was being smited.

Dean's bellow cut through the agony and screams that deafened Sam. "Gabriel, my brother is fucking dying! Save him!"

The flames licked at Sam's brain, and he knew that he had only a second left.

The iron hold on his head as torn away and the fire extinguished, but so much of Sam was burned away he didn't have the strength or will to stand, and he happily let himself rush to kiss the floor and enter sleep's embrace. What he meet was the junction of a shoulder and neck, his nose brushing against an ear as an arm wrapped around his waist and held him up.

A warmth spread through Sam, and he flinched as he was reminded of the fire that had damaged him. The warmth faded, then pulsed as if asking for permission to fill Sam once again. The soft pulse was enough to let Sam know the warmth meant him no harm and he embraced it, letting it slowly spread through him and heal the damage done by Bartholomew.

"Gabriel," Bartholomew breathed, and Sam felt the strength return to him. He lifted his head up from Gabriel's shoulder and blinked a few times. Gabriel wasn't looking at him, but instead staring with righteous fury at something behind Sam. Sam trailed his hand up Gabriel's arm and gave it a squeeze in silent thanks as he pushed himself off Gabriel, the archangel would not unwrap his arm from Sam's waist though.

Sam twisted in Gabriel's hold to see Bartholomew on the floor, backed up against his desk as he looked up at Gabriel with awe and fear.

"This game of war is over," Gabriel's voice left no room for arguments. He turned his icy stare on something behind him, and Sam followed his gaze to see Miriam slouched against the wall and gawking at Gabriel. "Do you understand?"

Thunder rolled as the sky darkened outside.

Miriam nodded numbly.

Bartholomew shook his head in shock. In a flash, his face turned crimson with rage as he pushed himself onto his feet. "No," He gasped as if he'd just run a marathon, and shook his head. "No! You abandoned us, and now you choose to show your face and interfere? I have done nothing but try to bring this family together and return us home. You—"

"Shut up!" Thunder boomed and all of the glass shattered in the room. Lightning flashed beyond the window, casting shadows with angel wings across the room. "I am so sick and tried of all your bitching and your lies not only to yourself, but to our siblings. It seems Michael and Lucifer have given you all the wrong impression, and I am going to set you straight; you do not kill siblings just because they won't listen to you."

"What right do you—"

Gabriel opened his mouth, but the sound that came out was an inhuman screech that had Sam wincing and covering his ears.

Bartholomew wilted.

Gabriel shut his mouth, silencing the piercing sound. The window rattled as the window howled outside. Gabriel raised his free hand, fingers poised to snap. "Now, since Dad isn't here to do it himself, I guess I'm going to have to be the one to do this."

"Do what?" Bartholomew's voice quivered.

Gabriel smirked. "Ground you." He snapped his fingers and Bartholomew disappeared. "Enjoy your _Leave it Beaver_ world. Hopefully you'll learn something about family."

Gabriel turned, keeping his hold on Sam's waist and forcing the young hunter to turn too.

Dean whistled lowly, impressed at what he had just witness. Castiel, who hung limply on Dean's shoulder, did not share Dean's admiration, but he did not look admonishing either. He was probably in too much pain to feel much of anything else.

Miriam, who had recovered from her initial surprise rose on shaky legs, but looked defiantly at Gabriel. "He was right about one thing. You abandoned us."

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "And so did Dad. At least I came back."

Sam shifted in Gabriel's grip, earning an inquisitive side-glance from the archangel. "Miriam, if you could keep Gabriel's existence a secret, we would—"

Gabriel squeezed Sam's waist. "Don't even bother, Hubby. I made quite a show just now. In fact, I bet if Dean-o were to look out the door right now, he would see every angel in the building standing in the hallway listening in on us."

Dean double-blinked. "Seriously?"

Gabriel nodded.

Dean shuffled to the door, doing his best not to injure Castiel further, and poked his head out. "Shit!" He poked his head back inside. "It's like staring into the faces of cattle waiting to be turned into burger meat."

Sam internally groaned. "You did not just call a hundred or so angels cattle."

"Yup, Dean has no sense of self-preservation." Gabriel pinched the skin on Sam's waist. "But neither do you. Once I'm done with my siblings, I swear we are going to have a chat about that."

Miriam watched the interaction intently.

Gabriel smirked at her. "What? Jealous?" He nudge Sam to follow him into the hallway, where dozens of faces greeted Sam and Gabriel with looks of loss, confusion, and anger as all of the angels saw the archangel for the first time after centuries of absence. All of the attention had Sam's muscles twitching with the desire to wiggle out of Gabriel's grip; he wasn't quite ready for public displays of affection. However, the part of him that had grown to care about Gabriel calmed his nerves and lessened his uncertainty by reminding him that he had almost died moments prior. Not only did he owe Gabriel, but the archangel was probably more shaken by the turn of events then he was letting on. Gabriel wouldn't admit it, but he needed the physical comfort.

"So…" Gabriel spoke jokingly. "You guys look like shit and probably have a lot of questions and need a lot of venting sessions, but I'm not really in the mood right now for that, so let's just get down to the knitty gritty." Gabriel raised one finger up in the air. "I am not going to kill anyone as long as it can be helped. Also, for those of you who were following Bartholomew, you start acting up and I will be happy to ground you guys too." He wiggled his eyebrows like it was some joke, but no one laughed. "Wow. Tough crowd."

"What are you doing here?" One of Bartholomew's followers piped up.

Many heads nodded and there was a sound of agreement amongst the angels.

"Stopping the fighting, duh."

A middle-age woman Sam had helped through the loss of her favorite brother during the fall stepped forward. "We mean, what role do you plan to play? Have you come here to amass power?"

Sam shook his head. "He doesn't want power."

"Although, let's face it, I'm going to get it whether I want it or not now." Gabriel rolled his eyes.

"But you're the next in line to rule Heaven in father's absence," one voice spoke, and that's when Sam saw just how divided the angels were as shouts of dissension broke out while angels either nodded or shook their heads. Some shoving happened and swords were raised.

The thundered roared, and the fighting stopped before it started.

"Enough! If you are of the few who still believe in the old ways, then you will cease fighting, and if you are the many who are just looking to find some power to stand behind then listen too, because I promise you, I am the strongest of all of you in this room. I do not want power, but now that the cat is out of the bag about me being alive, it's only a matter of time before a faction is built under my name regardless of my desires, so I will make this clear for all of you. If you are a follower of me then you will not harm or kill each other. I will end this stupid fight and get us back in Heaven one way or another, and anyone who insists on killing each other is getting permanently put in the playpen."

"Playpen?" Sam repeated.

Gabriel beamed. "Heaven's jail."

Murmurs broke throughout the crowd.

Sam took the time to lean in close to Gabriel and whisper, "Sorry."

Gabriel tilted his head up at Sam. "Why?"

Sam didn't know what to say. He knew it wasn't his fault that Bartholomew had almost killed him or that Dean had called Gabriel for help. Even so, he felt responsible for Gabriel revealing himself.

The hand around Sam's waist unraveled itself and swept up Sam's back to his hair. Gabriel tugged Sam's head down to brush his lips against Sam's cheek. "Idiot."

"What is going?" Miriam demanded, drawing attention from the crowd.

Heat permeated Sam's cheeks as hundreds of eyes landed on him and Gabriel. He could feel Gabriel's lips curl upward as he held up the hand with his wedding band. "I got married while I was off on my vacation." Gabriel let go of Sam's hair and slapped him on the ass, causing Sam to stumble toward the crowd. "Isn't my husband the prettiest little thing ever, and you guys should see the things he does with his mouth. You think Heaven is amazing, he—"

"I swear, Gabriel!" Sam didn't even complete his threat, as he was simultaneously flattered and embarrassed. This was definitely one his worst impressions on someone's family.

"Is this true?" Joel stepped out from the throng of angels, his face an expression of innocent confusion. "How is it possible when such a union is forbidden?"

"Long story," Sam and Gabriel said at once.

Gabriel grinned.

A tiny smile fought its way onto Sam's mouth. "It's true." He looked out it the lake of faces. "I know a lot of you are here because you are returning a favor for me or feel some form of loyalty." Sam paused, he knew what he wanted to say, but he didn't want to put any extra pressure on Gabriel either. It seemed though that Gabriel was finally ready to take up the mantle of leader, and Sam wanted to help. "You really should trust Gabriel though. He's obnoxious and he may have left you guys, but… he's a good person." Sam glanced over at Gabriel, feeling his confidence swell when Gabriel didn't look aghast or offended by Sam's gesture. "…I trust him."

The rumbling of conversation broke out again, but that's all the sound was to him—rumblings—because he was too busy staring at Gabriel who practically glowed with delight.

He took two steps to be at Sam's side, and the crowd hushed. Gabriel looked at his siblings, "Well, ladies and gents, unless you guys got something important to say, I am going to take my husband and brother-in-law home along with Cassy. I don't want to be bothered for the next few hours though."

Joel nodded as if Gabriel was just saying he'd be back in five minutes after tucking in the kids, which considering how long angels lived, that's probably exactly what it was like to Joel and the other angels. Then he spoke, "If Sam trusts you then, I will too."

It was only a few heads who nodded, and the number of whispers of agreement were nothing compared to the ramble that had been ignited from other statements, but it was enough to please Sam.

* * *

"All fixed up." Gabriel clapped his hands together after he finished healing Castiel.

The blue-eyed former angel blinked and lifted his shirt to search for any bruises that Gabriel may have missed. Dean, who had been healed beforehand, scooted closer to Castiel on the foot of the bed. He ran one hand over Castiel's side, frowning as if he thought the blemish free skin was an illusion.

Castiel's hand drifted to Dean's and gave it squeeze. "Thank you, Gabriel. I feel much better."

Gabriel shrugged. "Just do me a favor and stay out of trouble." He pointedly looked at all the three of the other occupants in the room. "I like my trickster reputation, and do not need it replaced by a healer one. It's bad enough that I am going to get one for wanting peace." He rolled his eyes. "Seriously, I made myself look like a sap for you guys."

Sam chuckled behind his hand. He was leaning on the door frame of Dean's bedroom, doing his best to stay out of the way.

"For that, I thank you as well," Castiel said.

"Yeah, well, there's someone else I'd like to receive some thanks from." Gabriel winked at Sam. "If you know what I mean."

Sam grinned, delight pooling in his stomach.

Dean cleared his throat. "Okay, Cas needs rest, and I really do not need to watch you two flirt, so how about you guys take your love fest outside."

Sam huffed finding Dean's reaction both bothersome and amusing. Dean really had no idea how many times Sam had to deal with a "love fest" between Dean and Castiel. Sam pried himself off the door frame, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Gabriel was following him, he was surprised to see Dean was right on Gabriel's heels. He excused the action by assuming that Dean just planned to close the door behind Gabriel, but then Dean stepped outside the room, shutting the door behind him.

Sam paused, causing Gabriel to mimic him and face Dean with an inquiring expression. Dean cleared his throat and did this thing where he made it look he was meeting the other person's eyes, but really he was glancing just off to the side of the person's face. "I just wanted to say thanks, not just for Cas, but for Sam too."

Gabriel blinked, completely caught off guard by Dean's gratitude. He was quick to cover it up with bravado. He waved off Dean's comment as he smirked. "Hey, I didn't do it for you. I still want to get my hands on that ass." He pointed his thumb at Sam. "One drunken night in Vegas is not enough."

"Keep talking about Sam like that in front of me, and I'll return the favor."

Gabriel chuckled. "Oh, I would love to see you talk about Cas' ass in front of everyone instead of stare at it fondly all day."

Dean flipped Gabriel the middle finger, but he did it with a smile that erased any worry about Dean and Gabriel's relationship. They'd never be singing each other praises, but their playful banter was a step in the right direction, and a good sign for Sam's sanity.

Dean disappeared into his bedroom, probably to admire Cas' ass privately.

"So you wanted to talk?" Sam brought up the topic as he walked the few steps to his bedroom.

"Yes, I am getting really tired of how you keep getting yourself in these situation where I have to save your ass. Do you know how hard you make it to teach assholes a lesson with all of your interruptions?"

Sam made a humming sound like he was considering Gabriel's words. He shed his jacket and sauntered to his bed. He turned to face Gabriel, but the archangel was on a tangent and didn't notice.

"I'm not kidding. I had this guy right where I wanted him; he was going to confess to the police what he had been doing in his basement when—bam!—call from Dean saying you're dying! Do you have any idea—?"

Sam yanked Gabriel by his shirt collar toward him and crashed their lips together, slipping his tongue into Gabriel's mouth, and tasting a combination of caramel and chocolate that had faded over time. His tongue brushed lazily across the roof of Gabriel's mouth, earning a moan from Gabriel.

A hand gripped Sam's hip.

Sam rolled his hips against Gabriel once before breaking the kiss.

Gabriel scowled. "Hey, you don't get to do a hip roll and then break a kiss unless you are dying from lack of exhaustion, and I know you weren't."

Sam laughed, sliding his hands over Gabriel's chest.

Gabriel eyed the action then raised an inquiring eyebrow at Sam.

"I think there is something else we need to talk about," Sam said.

"Oh really?" Gabriel purred. Pressing himself against Sam. The hand on Sam's hip slipped into Sam's back pocket, letting Sam feel each finger that clung to one of his cheeks.

"I didn't get a chance to respond to your confession."

Gabriel's hand slipped out from Sam's pocket like he'd been scorched. Sam could feel Gabriel pulling away, and Sam slid his hand behind Gabriel's back to hold him in place.

Gabriel sighed. "Sam, you don't have to say anything, or try to do anything to make it up to me."

Sam frowned. "I'm not trying to make it up to you. I just wanted to say, I don't know. I think I'm close, but I'm still not certain."

Gabriel huffed once again trying to separate himself from Sam. "I know, Sam."

Sam yanked Gabriel back, plastering his husband against his chest. Gabriel made an indignant sound that Sam muffled by pressing their mouths together. He smiled into the kiss as he moved his mouth against Gabriel's. Gabriel stubbornly refused to participate in any lip movement, choosing instead to pout like a petulant child. Sam withdrew his lips, smirking. "There is one thing I am certain about." He glanced at the bed, and then decided to steal a page from Gabriel's book and wiggle his eyebrows suggestively.

Gabriel's eyes went wide, and his pupils dilated ever so slightly. Sam also felt a twitch of life from Gabriel's lower half. "Seriously? And it is definitely not pity sex or anything like that?"

Sam nodded.

Gabriel whooped, and the next thing Sam knew he was on the bed, and Gabriel had literally torn his shirt off—one of the buttons had even hit Sam on the cheek. "Hey!" Sam laughed his reprimand. "I liked that shirt."

Gabriel threw the ruined shirt over his shoulders as he ran his hands over Sam's chest. "I'll get you a new one." He glued his mouth to Sam's neck, promising a to leave a bruise the size of a baseball at the juncture of shoulder and neck. "Gonna have my way with you all night."

Sam laughed, enjoying Gabriel's ministrations. "What about your siblings?"

Gabriel pried his lips off Sam, but only let them hover an inch away from the skin as he grinned. "They haven't seen me for centuries. I'm sure they can handle an extra night."

And what a night it was.

Sam didn't get any sleep until dawn.

* * *

_Content reigned supreme, humming through Sam as he meandered through a small, cluttered house that tugged at his memory. The white walls, the stacks of papers, piles of beer bottles, and dozens of unwashed coffee mugs all played with Sam's sense of nostalgia. He came to a room with a flimsy table, plaid décor, a white flat screen computer, and a black printer. A newspaper lay atop the printer._

_Sam reached for the newspaper, looking for any clues as to when or where his dream was taking place. He stopped though as the glowing screen of the computer caught his eye. Against the simple, blue background of the screen was a white document with two words typed on it:_

_Thank you._

Sam's fingers curled around his sheets as he returned to the waking world, feeling wonderfully spent, relaxed and warm. Gabriel's breath ghosted against his neck, and Sam smiled as he turned so he was facing Gabriel. He expected to see golden eyes staring at him since Gabriel did not require sleep, however, he was given pause when Gabriel's eyes were not only shut, but his breathing was deep and even.

"Gabriel?" Sam cuddled closer.

Gabriel did not stir.

Panic seized Sam's heart and he shook Gabriel. The archangel's face scrunched as he batted Sam's hand away. "What is wrong with you?" Gabriel rubbed his face with the back of his hand. "We finally got to consummate our relationship without being drunk and instead of basking in the glow you shake my brains out?"

"You're all right." Sam released a breath he had been holding.

Gabriel frowned, sliding closer to Sam, and pressing a kiss to his husband's shoulder. "Yeah, Hubby. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You were sleeping."

The frown returned to Gabriel's face. "Sam, I'm an angel. I don't…" He trailed off, realization dawning on him. "I was asleep. I was asleep against my will." He jumped out of bed, snapping on clothes for himself and Sam. He took Sam's hand in his and pulled the younger Winchester out of bed and out of the room. "You're staying close to me until—"

Dean's bedroom door was thrown open, and Dean and Castiel came marching out of the room. Castiel clutched what looked like a human rib bone in his hand and a square piece of paper.

"You guys are not gonna believe this," Dean said.

Dean didn't get to explain any more as Castiel held up the note for Sam and Gabriel to see, his face glowing bright with so much happiness, Sam would have sworn someone had replaced Castiel with someone else in the night—that, or Castiel had lost his memory again.

Gabriel snatched the note away, holding it for Sam and him to read together.

In messy, black scrawl it said: May this help you return the angels to Heaven.

"You don't think?" Sam didn't dare hope. He didn't want to be disappointed if the bone wasn't from God.

Dean was fighting a smile, but it was clear he was thinking the same thing as Sam. "It looks like the old man threw us a bone, quite literally."

It was so perfect; Sam almost couldn't believe it. It also offered a theory for why Gabriel was forced into slumber. After all, God was still in hiding, so he probably didn't want to risk any of his children finding him delivering a bone in the middle of the night to the bunker.

Sam turned to Gabriel, expecting the archangel to be just as delighted, but Gabriel was pale and aghast.

Sam's heart plummeted. He touched Gabriel's shoulder, drawing his husband's attention to him. "What's wrong, Gabriel?"

Gabriel swallowed a lump in his throat. He turned sorrowful eyes on Castiel then returned his gaze to Sam. "I told you the ingredients you needed to break Metatron's spell, but that's only part of it, Sam. There is a chant that must be said over the one whose grace was stolen."

Sam's brow pinched as he tried to understand what was wrong with that. Dean and Castiel shared his expression. "So?" Sam asked.

Gabriel sighed. "When the chant is finished the chanter must take the bone of God, bathed in the blood of human who loves an angel, and thrust it into the heart of the angel whose grace was stolen."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr](http://akira-of-the-twilight.tumblr.com/)


	11. Chapter 11

"You're saying we would have to kill, Cas?" Dean bulldozed through the few feet separating him from Gabriel. He towered over the archangel. His fingers twitched at his side like he wanted to grab Gabriel by the collar and hoist him into the air like Dean was an overpowered villain from a movie.

Gabriel scowled. "What do you think stabbing someone in the heart does, you dimwit? Also, did I say anything about wanting to do that?" He shoved Dean in the chest, sending the older hunter stumbling back a step. "Stop acting like I'm the bad guy here when I am of the same opinion as you."

"Then why didn't you tell us sooner? Why let us get our hopes up?" Dean shouted accusingly.

Gabriel gritted his teeth. His muscles tensed and his eyes darted to the side as if he were looking for an escape.

Sam was still fumbling through his emotions of frustration and confusion, but he recognized the signs of Gabriel's desire to run. He laid his palm on Gabriel's back, sliding it up to the space between the archangel's shoulder blades. Gabriel leaned a centimeter into the touch and he stopped searching for an escape route, but his body remained stiff with flight or fight instincts.

"I told you guys it would be pointless," Gabriel countered.

"Maybe you should have clarified why a bit better, and didn't you just promise all your other siblings that you would return them to Heaven?" Dean persisted in his verbal attack. Just behind him, Castiel cocked his head to the side, studying Sam and Gabriel.

Castiel's curiosity piqued Sam's own interest. He returned the favor of studying the other, anticipating an action or comment from Castiel.

Gabriel and Dean went on with their argument oblivious to Sam and Castiel. "I was going to find another way, idiot, or at least try to," Gabriel shouted.

Castiel stepped up behind Dean, and rested his hand on the older hunter's back, tearing Dean's attention away from Gabriel and ending their verbal brawl. "Cas?"

Sam pushed down a snigger at Castiel's mimicry (he'd positioned his hand on Dean's back so it mirrored Sam's on Gabriel's).

"I would like you to calm down, Dean. Although it would have been preferable for Gabriel to inform us of all of the spell's requirements initially, it doesn't change anything." Castiel rubbed his hand over one of Dean's shoulder blades.

Dean twisted himself so that Castiel's touch left him. "What are you talking about?" Suspicion laced Dean's voice, but there was a subtle cadence that revealed his insecurity.

Castiel's hand hovered over the spot where he'd touched Dean. His fingers curled, as if struggling to decide what to do with themselves. After the hesitation passed, Castiel placed his hand on Dean's shoulder where he'd left a permanent mark on the older hunter's body. "I am the reason my brothers and sisters were removed from Heaven and locked out. It is my duty."

"No!" Dean ripped his shoulder from Castiel's grip. "No, don't pull that bull crap with me. You are not dying for a bunch of assholes, who wouldn't even be grateful for your sacrifice."

"I am a hundred percent with Dean on this," Gabriel interjected.

Sam's hand fisted the back of Gabriel's jacket. He was a mess inside. He didn't want Castiel to die or for Dean and Gabriel to suffer from the loss of Castiel, but he understood Castiel's reasoning too.

Castiel's blue eyes scanned the room for support, and Sam fought for some way to silently covey to Castiel his understanding, but as Castiel's gaze met Dean and Gabriel's determined ones, the ex-angel slouched in defeat. A lump formed in Sam's throat, and he hurried to clear it. The sound caught Castiel's attention, and Sam jumped in his skin as the piercing eyes landed on him. He went ramrod straight and paused for a moment, before giving a very subtle nod.

That small amount of encouragement transformed Castiel into the strong and determined warrior that was beneath his unsuspecting exterior. He pushed his shoulders back and held his head high. "Dean..."

"No." Dean stormed off into his room, shutting the door behind him like a petulant teenager. It was such a rare and out of character reaction from Dean that Sam was floored by it.

Castiel sighed. "Excuse me." He closed the distance between him and the door and opened it. He ignored the curses Dean threw his way as he slid into Dean's bedroom and sealed himself inside with Dean.

Sam and Gabriel released a tense breath in unison. There was a beat of silence as they realized what they had just done, then Gabriel chuckled. He slipped out of Sam's hold and rubbed his forehead. "Man, I wish I was human again. I would love to get wasted right now."

"I think there are a few liquor stores about five miles from here. How many do you need?"

A halfhearted chuckle escaped Gabriel. "I could drain a whole town of its alcohol supply and not even feel tipsy."

Sam whistled in appreciation.

"So what about you?" Gabriel faced Sam and crossed his arms over his chest. "You need a beer or something?"

Sam thought about it. A beer would be really good right then, nothing like alcohol to take the edge off his thoughts. He nodded, and before he finished the action, Gabriel snapped his fingers, and a bottle of beer appeared in Sam's hands already opened. Sam lifted an inquiring eyebrow at Gabriel as he held up the open bottle. "You didn't put anything in it?"

"Just my love, and by love, I mean some good ole Gabriel juice."

Sam noted the sarcasm, but still took a sniff of the bottle's contents before taking a sip.

The endless chatter that Gabriel normally emitted was lacking. Wrinkles marred his forehead as he frowned deeply.

Sympathy tugged on Sam's chest. There had been many times when Dean's life had been in danger, but nothing quite like this. Someone had to kill Castiel, and whether it was Gabriel himself who thrust the bone into Castiel's heart or someone else, Gabriel would have to play a part in his brother's death by a relaying the chant. In fact, in some ways Gabriel had already done his part by accepting his leadership role. Sam wished he could say he understood perfectly what Gabriel was going through, but he worried that he only had a small glimpse of the pain Gabriel must be feeling.

Dean probably had a better chance of understanding Gabriel's pain—it would be his blood that would be used in the ritual.

As small as the comforting gesture would be, Sam knew exactly what he would do if he was standing next to his brother right then, so he applied the same reaction to Gabriel. He hoped it might have at least some minimal affect.

Sam held out the bottle of beer for Gabriel.

The action pulled Gabriel out of his thoughts with blinking eyes. He looked up at Sam curiously.

Sam shrugged. "It might do squat, but a sip is better than nothing."

Gabriel laughed. "Thanks, but I like something a little sweeter." Despite his words, Gabriel took the bottle and chugged down a mouthful before returning it to Sam.

Sam took another swig as he wrapped his fingers around Gabriel's wrist and tugged the archangel into his bedroom. He had no idea how much time Dean and Castiel would need to sort out their issues, but in the meantime he was going to do his best to offer Gabriel some comfort. He figured sitting at his desk or even on the bed would be more comfortable than standing in the hallway and it would offer Gabriel some privacy if he decided he wanted to talk.

Gabriel slumped into Sam's desk chair, which Sam took as Gabriel's silent way of saying he wanted to be alone. Sam wouldn't give Gabriel that, but he did grab a book and plop himself on his bed to read it—effectively ignoring Gabriel as the angel worked through his inner turmoil.

Sam's muscles and nerves twitched with inaction. It felt so odd to have so many people important to him in such emotionally compromised states yet do nothing to aid them. He knew, though, it was for the best. Castiel was the only one who could convince Dean that sacrificing himself was for the best.

Sam's stomach knotted at the thought of losing Castiel, and he adjusted his posture so his ankles crossed. He kept reminding himself that Castiel's decision was just like his had been in regards to the trials. He was the last person who could object to Castiel's desires, despite the pain he felt at idea of losing his friend and brother in both law and spirit. Even so, he knew it was for the best. He just wished pain wouldn't thrum through his body at the thought of the impending loss.

Gabriel sighed. Sam was thankful for the distraction. He lifted his head from the book, which he had stopped reading long ago.

"If it's what Cassie wants, I'll do it." Gabriel ran a hand over his face.

"You could always, tell us the chant and one of us—"

Gabriel shook his head. "I'll do it. I'll make sure it is as painless as possible, but I am not doing it for a month."

Sam sat up. Before the question was out of his mouth, Gabriel explained.

"It's going to take time for my siblings to accept my leadership role, and in the meantime, I need to disband most of the factions that have formed, especially any that have gone out their way to kill angels."

"And you think you can do all that in a month?"

Gabriel smirked, although it was tainted with a sliver of sorrow. "No, but I'll be pretty damn close. I should also have enough angels on my side that when Heaven's gates open, if Metatron tries to flee, we'll be able to capture him. And if the sneaky bastard has already hidden himself on earth, I should have a garrison ready and able to track him down. The asshole is getting thrown into the play pen one way or another."

Sam nodded, contented to know that Gabriel hadn't spent the last few minutes just bemoaning Castiel's fate.

Gabriel turned his head toward the door and huffed. "Of course, those two are still arguing like two kids trying to figure out who gets to be the leader for the day."

Sam winced, pitying Gabriel's exceptional hearing at that moment. Hearing Castiel and Dean argue aloud the debate that had to have been plaguing Gabriel's mind must have added an extra layer of angst to Gabriel's situation. Not that Gabriel would admit it or let it show. He continued to smirk as he slipped out of the chair and crawled onto the bed with Sam. "Sorry, Hubby, no more reading for you. I got an ache in my neck and I need my favorite pillow."

With hands around Sam's hips, Gabriel tugged Sam down to the sheets of the bed, forcing Sam to lie flat on his back. Sam made an indignant noise as he wiggled in Gabriel's hold, but he froze as the archangel laid his head on Sam's chest.

Gabriel sighed happily and snuggled closer. "Ah, yes, much better. Stay like that."

Sam blinked, staring down at Gabriel like the angel had lost his mind. Even after all his time with Gabriel it was these moments in which Gabriel would suddenly demand affection and comfort that caught Sam off guard. Even so, it took just a second to recognize what it was Gabriel wanted, and Sam relaxed.

He silently hoped that Dean and Castiel would come to their own conclusions soon. Fighting was the last thing either of them wanted or needed.

* * *

Sam's wish for Dean and Castiel was not granted. The next morning Dean bounced back and forth between the silent treatment and yelling, while Castiel would spend half hours following Dean around, trying to get Dean to talk to him. Most of those attempts ended in another argument, but many also ended with Castiel shaking his head and retreating to the library to read something before taking up his pursuit again.

Gabriel only stayed around long enough to inform Dean and Castiel of his decision to wait a month before opening Heaven's gates. Although Dean was too angry to admit it, Sam could tell his brother was relieved to know he had more time with Castiel. Castiel's response had been a curt nod that Sam took as a good sign.

Day two was a little better. Castiel had woken before anyone else and was attempting to make pancakes. Sam joined him in making the batter. He poured a small spoonful of the batter into a pan then after a few minutes of waiting, he flipped the half-baked pancake. He then surrendered the kitchen to Castiel, trusting that angel could handle himself beyond that point.

He must have been wrong, because when he peeked in five minutes later Dean had appeared and pushed Castiel aside. In a gruff voice, Dean instructed Castiel on proper pancake flipping as Castiel nodded with each sentence. Just as Dean finished scooping his finished pancake onto a plate, Castiel's hand lightly touched Dean's arm. Dean paused, then after a moment, he returned to work. Castiel smiled up at Dean as he watched the hunter cook, and Sam slipped quietly out of the room.

There wasn't any yelling that day, but Dean still wasn't willing to talk.

The third day seemed much like the second, but as Sam returned his book to the library he overheard some mumbles from behind a shelf. He poked his head around the wall of books and spotted his brother lying on the couch with his head pillowed in Castiel's lap. Dean's lips moved as he muttered something, and Castiel nodded, stroking Dean's head. Castiel murmured something back. Dean sat up and wrapped his hand around the back of Castiel's head, pulling the ex-angel down for a kiss.

Sam left, feeling much better about the state of Dean and Castiel's relationship. Although it had little to do with the archangel, and Gabriel would pretend he didn't care, Sam sent a silent prayer to Gabriel to let him know things between Dean and Castiel had gotten better.

Sam never got a response back. He assumed Gabriel was just busy with ending the faction wars.

The next few days were spent traveling to movie theaters and some of the few remaining video rental shops as Dean tried to show Castiel his top twenty favorite films. It resulted in Sam carrying a bottle of painkillers for when Castiel's eyes would start to reject the harsh glare of TV and Theater screens. Castiel was thankful to Sam when he finally needed them.

Then the road trips to any place of pop cultural reference happened, and Sam found himself spending more time at the bunker to avoid the tourist traps. Considering how many times those trips ended with Dean and Castiel returning with mussed up hair and bruised lips, Sam assumed they appreciated the time alone. Although, every now and then Sam was dragged on a trip, one of which was a fake old Western town. He sneakily took a picture of Dean and Castiel in cowboy gear with his phone and sent it to Gabriel with the captain: "I can't quit you." He was certain the _Brokeback Mountain_ reference would make Gabriel laugh.

Gabriel didn't respond.

Sam didn't want to panic, but he couldn't stop the voice in his head that kept shouting that Gabriel had runaway again, so he waited a day and prayed. " _Gabriel, you're starting to scare me. I haven't seen or heard from you in two weeks."_

Sam shifted nervously as he cleaned his guns in his room when he didn't immediately hear from Gabriel.

" _Sorry, Hubby! Really busy. I knew my siblings were assholes, but not even I suspected this many of them would be such dicks to each other. Everyday I have to resist ripping the wings off of at least four faction heads._ "

" _Four a day?"_ Sam hadn't thought there were that many factions.

" _That's the average, and a lot of the factions are small so don't worry, I am keeping my ass safe for you._ " Sam could hear the wink in Gabriel's voice.

" _If you want, I could help._ "

" _No offense, Sam, but you'd be more of a distraction. If I wouldn't be staring at your ass or getting my hands on it, then I would be constantly worrying about some jackass ruining it."_

" _I can defend myself."_

" _Against a horde of angels?_ _Keep in mind you also would be avoiding any lethal means of defense_."

It wouldn't be easy, but Sam could do it. All it would take would be a ring of holy oil, but even he knew the chances of him succeeding in drawing a circle around a group of angels in the middle of a fight would be difficult, albeit not impossible. He understood Gabriel's hesitation. He still didn't like it though.

" _I promise, Sam, next faction war I will let you kick all my siblings asses to your heart's content._ "

" _You better, because I swear if we have to go through this crap again someone is going to need some extra ass kicking._ "

" _Feisty._ _I love it!_ "

Sam laughed, his fears easing now that he had finally heard from Gabriel again, although, he would have appreciated an actual visit. Two weeks was too long a wait for another round in the sack, especially with the certain skills Gabriel possessed.

The third week was filled with Dean and Castiel finishing the rounds of touring and staying closer to the bunker. The fights started up again, but after a few minutes of cooling off Dean and Castiel could be found wrapped up in each other. However, by the end of the week Kevin came up to Sam with a blindfold and earplugs, something he said Sam would thank him for later. Sam had laughed it off.

Kevin got the last laugh when Dean and Castiel locked themselves in the bunker. Multiple times Sam walked in on things he much rather not see, or was awakened by one of them shouting the other's name or the sound of the bed slamming against the wall.

He was happy for his brother, but he could really do without all of the images of Dean and Cas' asses. The constant bouts of lovemaking and affection had Sam's stomach coiling with jealousy as he sent texts off to Gabriel or prayed to the archangel and only received a reply every three days. He'd never thought himself to be the clingy type, but after spending weeks with just Gabriel and suddenly trapped in Destiel World 24-7, he missed having Gabriel. Kevin helped keep him company; there were many times when they locked themselves away in a room and shared beers, played poker, and/or just read in each others' presence.

Kevin, who was seated in a plush yet old loveseat, looked up from reading a book. He blinked to adjust himself to the light, and looked at the walls as if searching for a clock. "Hey, when is that Gabriel guy supposed to show up?"

Sam shrugged as he ran his hand across the bookshelf, feeling the leather bound spines of the many volumes beneath his fingertips. He'd just finished the book he started two days ago and was searching for another. "Any day now, I guess." Sam ignored the empty feeling in his chest. A month without actually seeing Gabriel, and the next time he'd see the angel it would be when Castiel would die. He was simultaneously saddened and pissed off.

The guy friggin' begs for sex, finally gets it, and then leaves Sam for a month? If Sam didn't know Gabriel had been sincere during their courtship, he would have assumed that he had been used.

Sam took a deep breath, and reminded himself that he wasn't really that mad, his emotions were just a little raw and sensitive due to his knowledge of what was to happen over the next few days. It was just easier to get mad at Gabriel than focus on the real issue at hand, which was that he was about to lose a friend—a family member.

Strong arms wrapped around his waist as a face pressed into Sam's back. The sensation sent alarms off in Sam's head—no way was that Kevin holding him. Sam whirled in the hold and looked down to see two twinkling golden eyes looking up at him as Gabriel beamed. "Hey, gorgeous!" That was the only preamble before Gabriel smashed his lips against Sam's in a sloppy, chaste kiss that knocked Sam's back into the bookshelf and the air out his lungs.

Excitement bubbled in Sam's stomach as he registered what was happening. Gabriel broke their kiss and grinned ear to ear. Sam gasped for breath.

"Take my breath away," Gabriel sang in a high pitched, mocking voice.

"Jerk." Even as he said it, though, happiness curled in Sam's gut at seeing Gabriel.

"Let me guess," Kevin's voice came out a drawl as he eyed Gabriel. "Gabriel, right?"

Gabriel spun so he was facing Kevin. His grin transformed into a smirk. "Prophet."

Kevin frowned at the title.

The reaction had the corners of Gabriel's eyes crinkling with mirth as he squeezed Sam to his side. "I hope you don't mind, but I need to get reacquainted with my husband for a bit. Mind if I steal him?"

Kevin sighed like he was the most put-upon soul in the world, which he honestly might be, and pulled out two earplugs then popped them into his ears. "Have at it." He buried his face in his book.

With Kevin's permission obtained, the library became just a blur of colors then suddenly Sam was standing in his bedroom. There was a growl from Gabriel that might have been intended as sexy, but had Sam laughing as Gabriel pounced on him and shoved him to the bed. It was enough of a distraction that Sam let Gabriel kiss him for all he was worth as Sam ran his hands over Gabriel's body.

The wonderful feel of Gabriel's small yet sturdy frame underlined just how long it had been since they had last seen each other. The sense of something missing became more pronounced to Sam. Without thinking, he yanked Gabriel downward, pressing their bodies together so that they were connected physically from their lips down to their legs.

Gabriel moaned and pulled back, looking indignant. "What is wrong with you? Why didn't you remind me what I was missing out on the last month?"

Sam frowned and flicked Gabriel on the forehead. "The last time I checked, you were pretty good about making sure you got your sex and make out sessions regularly, so don't blame this on me."

Gabriel groaned, burying his face into Sam's neck. "So much work. I hate it."

"But it's for the good of your siblings," Sam reminded.

Gabriel sighed and nodded as he pushed himself up so he was straddling Sam. He splayed his hands across Sam's stomach, occasionally curling and uncurling his fingers, which was a nice massage for Sam. If it weren't for the frown on Gabriel's face Sam would have closed his eyes and enjoyed the soft, light ministrations. Instead Sam sat up, exhaled, and pressed his forehead against Gabriel's. "Cas, right?"

Gabriel made a show of wrinkling his nose. "Ew, Sam. Never mention a guy's brother while in bed with him."

Sam rolled his yes, but didn't pull away.

Gabriel sighed. "You have no idea how hard it was to come here. I almost managed to convince myself that I was only coming here to have some fun times with you. It doesn't help when you can hear your brother and his significant other talking about his imminent death in the next room." Gabriel's face scrunched. "Okay, now I am tuning them out cause it just went from talking to—"

Sam wrapped an arm around Gabriel's neck and brought the angel down on top of him.

Gabriel made a puzzled face but didn't resist. "Sam?"

Sam cocked his head in the direction of his brother's room. "They're pretending for one more day, right? We can pretend too."

Gabriel pulled his head up just enough so he could look Sam in the eye as a grateful smile danced on his lips. "You have no idea how much I…"Gabriel shook his head, his grateful expression taking on a hint of sadness. "Never mind." He dove in for another kiss, and Sam welcomed his lips.

* * *

The next day came too quickly, and Sam found himself dreading the sunrise and throwing himself more into his game of pretend with Gabriel, until he finally had to leave his room for food. He kept hold of Gabriel's hand in the kitchen; he didn't know if the action was for his own comfort or Gabriel's anymore. Dean and Castiel were already there cooking eggs. At the sight of Gabriel, Dean dropped his spatula and cursed as he grasped at it to keep it from falling. The smile that had been on Castiel's face vanished, and the light dimmed in his eyes. His hand reached out for Dean's and squeezed.

Gabriel waved off their concern as he stepped closer to Sam. He made a joke that Sam only halfheartedly listened to. Kevin came into the kitchen just then, looked around, then backed out slowly while casting everyone dubious looks. Sam tried calling him back, but Kevin shouted that he would eat later. As the four sat down to a meal, Sam was surprised when Gabriel suggested he should take Kevin a plate of food. At first, Sam started to question Gabriel's motives, but he soon realized that Gabriel wanted to talk to Dean and Castiel for a moment, probably to prepare them for what was to come. He wanted to be there for Dean, but his older brother urged him to feed Kevin, making a comment along the lines of, "He'll turn crazy and ghoul-like again if he doesn't get food." Sam did as told. When he returned the room was tense with silence.

After breakfast, Gabriel pulled Sam aside for an hour as they prepared one of the empty bedrooms and let Dean and Castiel have some more time with each other.

"I'm going to have to leave the second I finish the chant and stab Cas," Gabriel said as he soaked God's bone in a bowl of Dean's blood, while Sam stripped the bed of its blankets and sheets.

Sam paused in his movements. "What?" He wasn't sure what to think. Was Gabriel running away again? Was his departure somehow tied into the ritual? Had Dean asked him to leave afterwards?

"The gates will open immediately. Once that happens, I need to lead the angels back inside and make sure Metatron is captured. We will also be making certain that all of the rebels give up their factions before entering Heaven or fight off any faction that is stupid enough to try to reclaim Heaven for itself."

Sam frowned. Sam's insides protested the notion of Gabriel having to go straight into battle after having murdered one of his siblings. "Are you going to be okay?"

There was a downward pull on Gabriel's lips. He stared at Sam. "No, but what about you? You haven't been saying much."

Sam shrugged. "Guess it just doesn't seem right. You and Dean are closer to him."

"Doesn't mean you can't get angry. Seriously where is the lunatic who stalked me for months just to force me to bring his brother back to life?"

"He's here, but he's been subdued over the years."

Gabriel nodded, and they continued their preparations in silence. Sam did his best not to think about why he was pushing the bed over the tiny square drain in the middle of the room. He also did his best to forget the reason behind why he was double-checking the amount of wood and oil they had stocked up on.

The hour of preparation came to an end as Castiel, gripping Dean's hand tightly, entered the room with a look of determination on his face. He marched to the bed, tugging Dean behind him. He seated himself on the old, beat up mattress.

Gabriel took a deep breath before he picked up the blood-soaked bone from the desk he had placed it on. He lumbered to the bed where Castiel laid himself down. Gabriel looked at Castiel's interlocked hand with Dean's and released a deep breath. "You might want to let go."

Dean and Castiel tightened their grips and shook their heads.

Sam inched closer to Dean. He would be there for his brother the moment Dean needed him.

Gabriel nodded and positioned the point of the bone over Castiel's heart. Words of Enochian flowed out of Gabriel's mouth, picking up strength and speed until the words seemed to bounce off the walls.

Gabriel lifted the bone higher.

Castiel closed his eyes.

Dean gritted his teeth.

Sam clasped Dean's upper arm.

With one final word, Gabriel thrust the bone into Castiel's heart.

A noise escaped Castiel's mouth and his eyelids flew open to reveal blue eyes.

There was a swoosh of wings and Gabriel was gone.

Castiel's eyes were still open, though, and his body quaked.

Sam shook his head. No, Gabriel had promised it would be quick and painless, so why…

The blue in Castiel's eyes took on an eerie glow, just like an—

_Angel's!_ Sam thought as the bunker trembled. He could hear stuff falling off shelves and hung items bouncing on the walls as the bunker trembled.

Dean looked around, his eyes moist and glaring, as if demanding to know what frickin' earth moving deity had decided to interrupt his final moments with Castiel.

"Cover your eyes!" Sam flung his hands up. Castiel's grace had been tied into the spell that had banished the angels and prevented their return to Heaven. It was just a theory on Sam's part, but with the spell broken, Castiel's grace was free so it must be returning to its owner. If that was the case then there was still hope for Castiel.

Even with his eyes closed and hidden behind his hands, bits of the holy light seeped past Sam's defenses just enough to let him know what was happening without damaging his sight. He found himself grinning. As soon as the light died he tore his hands off his eyes and stared at the figure standing behind the bed with two large wing shaped shadows protruding from his back.

"Cas!" Dean gasped, going slack-jaw.

Castiel's head swiveled as he stared at himself. His hands touched his heart where his wound had been but was now gone. He looked to the ground then bent down and picked up the rib bone that had pierced him moments prior. He examined it, then smiled, tossing it on the mattress. "I am whole again."

In a display of emotion that he would threaten Sam into silence about later, Dean flung himself at Castiel, wrapping his arms around the restored angel's shoulders. "You fucking asshole! Don't scare me like that!"

"I will endeavor to do so, Dean." Castiel returned the embrace.

Sam beamed and silently prayed to Gabriel. _Castiel's alive!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can chat with me and get updates about upcoming stories via [Tumblr](http://akira-of-the-twilight.tumblr.com/)


	12. Chapter 12

_Castiel's alive!_ Sam's declaration in his head almost had Gabriel halting mid-ascension to Heaven, but he swiftly reminded himself of his mission. From the corner of his eye he saw many of his brethren in their astral bodies soaring toward their once lost home, glowing so bright they looked like stars to the human eye—an amazing sight it be seen in the middle of the day with the sun high in the sky. He could also see a few of siblings still in their vessel's bodies as they surged behind him, ready to storm the gates.

He flew onward, leading his siblings home with a heart made lighter from the knowledge that he had not killed Castiel.

He could see the gates—they weren't literal gates but more like a rift in the sky that could only be seen and entered by his brethren, reapers, and souls, although reapers were not allowed much farther beyond the gates.

A human-sized speck dropped out of the rift.

_Metatron._

" _Amos have your group follow me_ ," Gabriel connected to his troops' leaders through angel radio, doing his best to block Metatron from receiving the transmission. " _Everyone else, continue into Heaven and follow the plan._ " There was a resounding chorus of agreements in his head as he arced through the air and dove for the falling figure.

Gabriel had to admit, Metatron did an excellent job of hiding his Heavenly self within his vessel, even Gabriel had trouble seeing his true form through his human visage. There was just a very faint halo of light around the stout angel scribe. The light was just enough to assure Gabriel that it wasn't a human plummeting from Heaven. It was a small miracle that Metatron hadn't formed a crazy scheme that involved kidnapping humans, bringing them to Heaven, and then throwing them out as a distraction.

He was right on Metatron's tail. He just needed an extra boost of speed and he'd have the troublesome angel in his grasp.

Metatron glanced over his shoulder at Gabriel. He said something, but the wind stole the words.

Metatron flattened his limbs to his side, picking up speed as he nose-dived to Earth like he was frickin' Icarus,

Gabriel ground his teeth together and mimicked Metatron's posture, his own speed increasing.

Metatron smirked up at Gabriel. He knew he had the lead on Gabriel and the archangel had no way of catching him.

Twinkling lights rushed up through the clouds, unnoticed by Metatron, who's attention was too focused on Gabriel.

Gabriel returned Metatron's smirk.

Metatron didn't think Gabriel would be stupid not to have a cavalry, did he?

Metatron smug expression faltered and he twisted his neck so he was looking down at the swarm of angels rising up to meet him.

A squawk escaped Metatron. He hurriedly veered to avoid the horde of his brethren, but it was too late. Hundreds of his siblings swarmed around him in their Heavenly bodies, and held him in place.

A cry of victory broke out between the cavalry and Amos' troops as they all celebrated the capture of Metatron.

Gabriel hovered in the air with his arms crossed over his chest. To the human eye, Metatron appeared simply surrounded by lights while suspended in the air with his arms outstretched at his side and his legs pressed together as if bound. Desperation flashed through the stout angel's eyes. "Gabriel, please, I was only trying to do what was best. You have to believe me."

Gabriel shook his head, smiling all the while. "You really think I'm going to buy that?" Glee tickled Gabriel's insides. "By the way, I really hoped you liked Heaven, because are not going to be leaving it for a long time."

* * *

Dean, Castiel, Kevin, and Sam clinked the necks of their beer bottles together in triumph then chugged down mouthfuls of beer.

" _Guess who I caught_ ," Gabriel voice drifted into Sam's mind. Sam ripped the lip of the bottle from his mouth. A huge grin became his prominent facial feature.

Kevin was the first to notice as he scrunched his face at Dean's choice of beer. "Okay, your expression just skyrocketed ten-thousand watts. What's up, because I gotta know what would top one of your friends not dying when everything said he would?"

"Yeah, Samantha, what's up with the rainbows shooting out of your ass?" Dean joked. He wrapped his arm around Castiel's waist. He probably would leave it there for the next hour or two, or until he and Castiel got a chance to intimately confirm the renewed angel's existence.

"Rainbows are not shooting out of his ass, Dean." Castiel frowned. "It is not even physically possible. Now if he were part unicorn…" Castiel's eyes sparkled with mirth as he joked.

Sam had to admit, Castiel's sense of humor had improved since Dean and him officially got together.

"Well, come on, spit it out," Dean demanded.

"Metatron has been captured."

Dean pumped his fist in the air and let out a victorious hiss. "Finally. Please tell me Gabriel is giving the asshole his own personal brand of justice, because Met is one of the few friggin' people who deserves that kind of shit."

"Don't know, just got the message Gabriel caught him."

Dean grunted as he took another swig of alcohol. His face may have possessed a frown, but his demeanor was the exact opposite. His posture was loose and lazy and a sense of contentment rolled off him as he unconsciously brushed his fingers along Castiel's side.

A small smile was present on Castiel's lips as he bowed his head ever so lightly, as if mentally thanking everyone who had made that moment possible. It looked like decades of stress had been striped from him as he leaned against Dean.

Kevin kept sipping his beer and making faces.

Sam chuckled and took the beer from Kevin and gave the prophet his. Kevin read the beer's label to see that it was a different brand then took a sip. He didn't gulp down the beverage, but at least he had stopped making faces of disgust.

Sam sighed as he looked around. He was delighted to see everyone around him happy, and he couldn't help but share in that happiness. However, he also couldn't ignore the part of himself that was still tense and waiting for the other shoe to drop.

* * *

"Behind you!" Dean shouted.

Sam whirled and ducked as a ghost charged at him.

There was a scream from the young woman who's family had been the victim of some recent hauntings. Sam moved in time to see Dean pick up an iron poker from a rack next to the fireplace and swing it through the ghost's misty body.

The ghost howled as it vanished temporarily.

"I thought you were taking care of burning the necklace," Sam gasped as he straightened, his muscles tense and ready to strike if the ghost attacked him again.

"Sorry! Sorry!" The girl cried as she pushed a large, brown, curly tress from her face. She scurried past Sam into her kitchen, which was filled with so many potted plants it had to be a health hazard (not to mentioned the freaky amount of cat-themed cooking utensils everywhere). "I forgot, I took it off in the kitchen because the clasp broke."

Sam mentally rolled his eyes at the new information. Dean rushed past him with his salt-bullet-loaded gun in hand. Dean shoved the poker into Sam's hands.

The girl skidded to a halt and fumbled with a drawer.

The old hag of a ghost reappeared behind her.

"Shit!" Dean couldn't shoot a bullet with the hag standing in front of the girl.

Sam charged forward, swinging the poker. The iron sunk through the ghost and the hag disappeared again.

The girl whirled, holding a faux silver necklace in her hand as she beamed at the brothers. "Found it."

Sam yanked the necklace out of her hand and tossed to Dean, who was already fumbling was a small canister of oil and drenching the damn necklace with it. Sam doused the necklace in salt as well while Dean lit a match. Sam jumped out of Dean's way and as his brother set the thing ablaze on the tiled floor.

There was an inhumane screech as the ghost permanently vanished.

The cat-fanatic pouted. "Would you guys mind paying to replace my floor you just ruined?"

Dean and Sam glared at her.

The girl held up her hands in a defensive gesture. "Sorry, just asking."

Sam and Dean shared a look of incredulity. They didn't waste any more time with the girl than they had too. They packed up all of their equipment and hopped into the Impala, driving back to the motel where they had stayed for the last few days. Sam laughed at one of Dean's jokes as he got out of the Impala and rounded it. He popped open the trunk and pulled out his bag. He mentally went through a list of things that he would add to the sack once he was back in the motel and packing again. He slung the bag of his shoulder and headed for their room, only to pause and ask Dean if his brother had removed his laundry pile from the bathroom.

He turned, and the question died on his lips.

Castiel stood in front of Dean—his back facing Sam. Sam had no idea what expression Castiel wore, but Dean was smiling like crazy and chatting up a storm.

Sam's chest constricted. Another two weeks had passed since he'd seen Gabriel, and once again there was a lack of communication. He got updates from Castiel, but whenever he saw how happy Castiel and Dean were together bitter jealousy rose in him.

Castiel turned, grinning, only for the smile to fall when he spotted Sam watching Dean and him. He shifted in discomfort, and Sam immediately worried that perhaps he had been projecting his bitterness and Castiel had sensed it. If Castiel had, the renewed angel did not let it deter him, because he marched up to Sam. "Things are going well, Sam. The successful capture of Metatron and reopening of Heaven has aided Gabriel in swaying many of the angels over to his side. There are only a few who stubbornly refuse to submit to him, and their numbers are dwindling each day. He should return to you soon, although, I am certain he has told you as such."

"Yeah…" Sam half-lied. He knew that the angels were warming up to Gabriel as their new leader, but Gabriel had promised no such return. He just apologized and said he was busy the few times he responded to Sam's attempts at communication.

Castiel frowned and cocked his head to study Sam.

Sam sighed; he did not want Castiel reporting to Gabriel that he was moping. "I get it, Cas. He's establishing his power. He can't run off right now."

"Yes, Sam, although…" Castiel hesitated. "Time flows differently up there, and it is hard to tell one Earth day from the other. If you were to insist, I assure you, Gabriel would come to you in an instant. Whenever given a chance he is quick to brag about you to our siblings. He has also made it quite clear if, and these are his words, 'if any of you dickheads damage my Husband's ass or any part of that fuck-tastic bod of his, I will personally make you wish you had been thrown into the cage with Luci.'"

Sam burst with laughter even as his cheeks reddened in embarrassment. That was his Gabriel. "Thanks, Cas."

"It was no burden on my part, Sam."

"Okay, so now that you two chicks have finished your gossip, you mind making yourself scarce, Sam?" Dean stepped up behind Castiel so angel's back was just a hairsbreadth away from his chest.

Sam rolled his eyes at his brother's request, but was already planning what to do for the next few hours. "Do you two ever stop?"

"Nope," Dean said, and gave Castiel a nudge in the direction of the motel room.

Sam shook his head at Dean's antics. He strolled across the motel parking lot and did his best to recall a park he had seen when Dean and him had driven into town. He had seen it near a sandwich shop, which would be a good place to stop by to get an early dinner. He could even pick up something for Dean; there were only so many rounds of sex a human body could go without proper rest and nourishment.

The park was a twenty-minute walk away. Sam searched for an unoccupied picnic bench, and when he found one, he spread himself across the top and pillowed his head with his hands. A breeze tickled his nose with a strand of his hair and rustled the lush, green leaves of the trees shading the bench.

Children's laughter echoed from the play structure a short walk away, accompanied by the sounds of parents cries of warning or their bubbly laughter as they cautioned and played with their children.

Sam smiled, enjoying the peace that juxtaposed his roiling thoughts.

He'd known for a while that if he really wanted Gabriel to come back all he had to do was call and demand a visit just as Castiel said, but his greed and moral compass were at war with each other. He wanted to be selfish and have Gabriel at his side but this wasn't just Gabriel spending too much time at work —he was rebuilding a kingdom. Whatever, Sam wanted seemed trivial in comparison, and Gabriel appeared to be in agreement, because even Gabriel with all of his self-centered-ness and hedonistic ways hadn't come to Sam.

Even so, Sam didn't want to go through another month without seeing Gabriel, but interrupting him for a booty call just seemed wrong. Sam wasn't even sure if that was what he wanted. He would enjoy the sex immensely, but the thought of it just being that did not ease the feeling of a gaping hole in his chest, which Sam liked to think was curtsey of Gabriel punching him in the heart.

Sam touched his chest and frowned.

It really did feel like someone had punched him in the heart. There were only a handful of relationships that had ever made him feel that way. The first was his relationship with Dean. He'd felt it when he had stormed out of the house that night so many years ago and Dean hadn't chase after him to say goodbye. It also occurred every time he thought Dean would die. The second relationship had been the one with Jess. It would happen during long weeks of studying in which he didn't get to see her. The third and last one had been his relationship with Amelia after he'd given up on what they had together—both times.

Two out of three were romantic relationships, and all of them contained love, albeit one more familial than the others. Even so, Sam knew what he felt for Gabriel wasn't what he felt for Dean, which could only mean one thing.

Sam sat up and buried his face in his hand. Sometimes even he wondered how he managed to get into Standford when he was so obtuse about such obvious things.

He loved Gabriel.

Now what was he going to do about his new revelation?

* * *

Dean owed Sam for kicking him out of the motel that afternoon, so it wasn't difficult to convince Dean to spend an extra day in town and get separate rooms. Dean was also all too thrilled to drive to the convenient store and buy ten pounds of chocolate and candy. He even threw in three pies, although, two of them were for himself and Castiel.

Sam spread the contents of the bags of candy over every available surface in his motel room with the exception of the floor and the bed. Sam did not want to risk melted chocolate in the sheets killing his mood even if Gabriel would happily lick off any that got on Sam. Maybe he was being a little presumptuous about the bed, but considering the only two things Gabriel loved as much as sweets (Sam chose to believe he was loved more than sweets) was trashy TV shows and sex, Sam thought the odds were in his favor.

The overpowering scent of sugar assaulted Sam's nose as he scanned the candy-coated room for any spots he had missed.

He had to admit, this was one of his weirder romantic moves, but he figured Gabriel would enjoy how over the top it was.

He crossed his arms over his chest and put on his best scowl, despite knowing how the mounds of sweets undermined his feigned fury. "Gabriel, get your ass down here this instant! You think this is funny?"

Gabriel appeared in front of Sam, his head swiveling as he took in the sight of the room. His eyes lingered on each piece of furniture coated in candy. He whistled in appreciation. "Listen, I know sweets are my thing, but I swear I did not move Candy Land to your motel room, although, I could if you want." Gabriel grinned.

Sam glared.

Gabriel's grin faltered. He tried to force the expression onto his mouth again, but his lips struggled in their upward curl. "C'mon, Sam, it's not that bad. I'll even eat all of it for you, if you want."

Sam had to fight down his smile; he found Gabriel's casual willingness to eat ten pounds of sweet humorous and endearing, especially when Gabriel could just snap it all away. "That's not my only problem, Gabriel."

Gabriel stiffened. He dropped all pretext of a smile. "What's wrong? Did something happen to you or your brother? I thought Cas was keeping an eye on you guys." He cursed as he kicked his toe across the floor. "I told him that job takes priority over all others."

Sam shook his head and stepped toward Gabriel. "No. Do you have any idea what day it is?"

Gabriel glanced around the room for a calendar. When he found none, he must have assumed the worst, because his eyes widened with alarm. "Shit. Heaven messed up my perception of time on Earth, didn't it? Please tell me it hasn't been months." Gabriel scowled. "And why the hell didn't you call me? New rule: if three days go by and you don't see me, bitch at me until I get my ass down here and show you a different kind of Heaven."

Sam bit the inside of his cheek to avoid laughing at the cheesiness of the last line. "It's been two weeks, Gabe."

There was a flash of surprise in Gabriel's eyes as he mentally faltered over the nickname.

"Heck, I have only seen you once in the last month and half, and you know what I have realized?" Sam said bitingly.

Gabriel's shoulder blades pressed together as he put on a mask of nonchalance. Whatever he thought Sam was going to say, he didn't want the hunter to know he was scared and anticipating heart ache. A twinge of guilt almost caused Sam to cease with his scheme, but he knew Gabriel would appreciate the reveal of Sam's true reasons for summoning him.

"I realized that without your constant pestering for attention, your jokes at my expense or anyone in the vicinity, your secret piles of candy wrappers that you never put in the trash— _even though_ it's just three feet away—your desire to tell everyone just what a great body I have, your willingness to go to museums and hunt demons and monsters, and your cuddling ways—even if you swear you are not a cuddler, but just making sure the goods aren't damaged before you get to have sex with me—I miss you."

Gabriel's mouth dropped open an inch. He stared at Sam as if the young hunter had just revealed he was part unicorn with a little mix of kelpie. "Sam, are we stuck in a b-rated romance flick, or are you—?"

Sam cupped Gabriel's face in his hands pressed a chaste kiss to the angel's lips. "I love you, you idiot."

Gabriel clasped Sam's hands, looking aghast. "Oh Dad, we really are trapped in a chick-flick, aren't we?"

Sam laughed as he swatted Gabriel's shoulder. "Get your head out of your ass. I love you, and just so you know, all this candy is for you."

Gabriel's jaw dropped. "Say it again."

Sam rolled his eyes, but even as he did so there was warmth in his chest. "I love you."

Gabriel pounced on Sam, his arm and leg's wrapping around Sam like snakes. "One more time." He grinned.

Sam turned his head away in mock defiance. He used a fake put-upon voice, "No. Now you are just being difficult and demanding."

Laughter burst from Gabriel. He slid his hand under Sam's chin and turned Sam's head to face him.

Gabriel locked his lips onto Sam's mouth. He refused to release Sam, forcing Sam to breath out his nose. The kiss was long, and even with his alternative way of breathing, Sam felt himself growing light headed. He drifted to the bed and sat on the edge, letting Gabriel occupy his lap. Once Sam's butt hit the mattress, Gabriel pried his lips off Sam's and beamed. "Love you too, Sasquatch, and I wasn't joking about the three day thing. You know what, forget three days, make it two."

"What about—"

Gabriel pressed a finger to Sam's lips and glared at him. "There is plenty of time for that, and I do have a few siblings I trust to run things while I'm away, however, I got no one to take care of you."

"What about, Cas?"

Gabriel huffed. "Oh please, that guy can barely tear his eyes away from your brother long enough to realize what is going on around him. Honestly, if you and Dean weren't practically Siamese twins you'd have no protection at all. And besides…" His fingers trailed up Sam's chest, dancing around the buttons of his shirt. A predatory gleam entered his eyes. "…Castiel can't take care of your needs."

"And you think you can?" Sam taunted playfully.

Gabriel surged forward and pushed Sam down on the bed, his arms pinning Sam in place as he leaned down so his breath ghosted Sam's lips. "I promise you."

Gabriel's lips latched onto Sam's.

Sam ran a hand over Gabriel's chest as he smiled into the kiss. His fingers gripped Gabriel's shirt. He bent his leg, positioning it next to Gabriel's side then threw his weight into it, flipping them over and pinning Gabriel. Gabriel blinked as he adjusted to his new perspective His lips formed a small "O".

Sam smirked, reveling in Gabriel's surprise. "You sure you can keep that promise?"

Gabriel scoffed. He gripped the back of Sam's head, his finger's lacing through the strands as he yanked Sam downward. "What? You need it in our wedding vows or something?"

Sam didn't answer, just smiled and pressed a feather-soft kiss to Gabriel's lips. Gabriel groaned at the tease when Sam pulled away just to hover his mouth a few inches from Gabriel's.

Gabriel glared challengingly. "Definitely. I can definitely keep that promise, you tease." Just like that Gabriel smashed their mouths together. He ran his free hand over Sam's back, memorizing the contours that lay just beneath the shirt.

Excitement and anticipation thrummed through Sam, so it took all of Sam's willpower to withdraw from Gabriel.

Gabriel pouted at the distance put between them. He tried to pull Sam down to continue their kiss, but Sam pressed a finger to Gabriel's mouth. "You did ask for it one more time." Gabriel scrunched his face in irritation and confusion, causing a chuckle to reverberate within Sam's chest at Gabriel's face. "I love you."

Gabriel expression softened. "Love you too, Hubby."

There was a beat of silence as the two enjoyed the confessions, then Gabriel groaned and rolled his head back into the pillow. "Now can we please get to the fucking already. This is torture!"

Sam laughed and dove for Gabriel's mouth.

He gave Gabriel everything the archangel wanted.

* * *

End.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can chat with me and get updates about upcoming stories via [Tumblr](http://akira-of-the-twilight.tumblr.com/)


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